The Girl I Met Last Summer
by sototallyrandom
Summary: VERY AU. 16-year-old Jemma Simmons is forced by her parents to spend her summer at her uncle's ranch in the United States. Jemma is sure she's going to hate it there, at least until she meets his stable girl. SKIMMONS
1. The Girl I Met Last Summer

**Ok, so this story is going to be ****_VERY AU_****. I don't know how much more I can express that. If you're not a fan of AU's, leave now. I myself do a lot of riding and thought it might be fun to incorporate the western feel of my most favorite hobby into a skimmons fic. Also, please take a minute to appreciate the cover photo of this story, because it took me FOREVER to make it.**

***I'm sorry for the confusion about the posting of this story, some bug happened the first time, I had to delete it and re-post it***

Jemma squinted as she stepped out of the cab with her bag. She immediately scrunched up her nose when she inhaled the smell of horses. Or more specifically, horse _manure._

Her parents had used the excuse that she studied too much as a reason to send her out here, to her uncle's ranch, for the summer. This would seem odd to any other family, but not the Simmons's. She had A plusses in all of her classes but still holed up in her room with her best friend doing schoolwork that was specially assigned by their teachers just so they would be quiet and content.

They didn't even let her bring any of her science gear. She might have found it interesting if she had been able to study something. She was sure there would be _nothing_ the _least_ bit entertaining to her.

_"For someone who studies life, you haven't seen much of it."_ Her mum had told her. And naturally, when she suggested her staying out here, in the-middle-of-nowhere, United States, for the summer, her father just went along with it. Who cares what she thought, right?

Jemma had taken a plane and then a cab from there to get her to where she was now standing, at the entrance to Wild Wood Ranch, owned by Phil Coulson, her mother's brother.

Jemma gave the cab driver the appropriate (and very expensive) fare money and coughed as he drove away down the unpaved road, spinning up dust.

She pulled up the handle of her suitcase and started the walk down the seemingly endless path to her uncle's house. It was mostly dirt, but the occasional rock tipped over her bag and she had to stop where she was to flip it over again.

Jemma was convinced. She was going to hate it here, hate every second of it. She grumbled to herself as her suitcase flipped for the fifth time. She was positive her books wouldn't make it back home at the end of the summer in the same pristine condition they were in when she packed them.

She was going to be miserable the entire summer, all two months of it. There was nothing for her to do here and only her uncle to socialize with... who was _that?!_

Jemma's jaw dropped when she saw a tan female about her age riding a brown horse, speeding through the right field. The girl's brown hair flew behind her like streamers in the wind and her beaming smile could be visible from miles away. Jemma stopped where she was to watch. When the girl spotted her, she clicked her tongue and the horse changed directions with the movement of her hand, headed straight towards her.

Jemma let out a little screech when the massive horse stopped with its head a few feet from her, whinnying softly and snorting.

"Didn't anyone ever tell you not to yell near a horse?" The girl asked her. Honestly, Jemma never knew what she actually said. All she could focus on was that accent. That light, fluent, sexy American accent.

"What's your name?" She asked. It took a moment, but the words finally registered in Jemma's brain.

"Jemma. Jemma Simmons." She blushed. What was wrong with her? Here she was, standing in front of this extremely attractive girl. She felt very overpowered, she obviously thought herself too geeky, and it didn't help for the intimidation factor that the girl was sitting on a horse and was much, much higher than her. She had to completely look up to make eye contact.

Jemma couldn't help but notice the way the sweat on her forehead underneath her cowboy hat made her skin sparkle, and the way her tank top was form fitting underneath the thin purple flannel she wore unbuttoned. She must have been out here riding a while to work up such a sweat in weather that could hardly be considered hot.

"You must be Phil's niece. I've heard a lot about you." Ok, so that's why this girl was here. She knew her uncle. Jemma was startled when Skye dismounted with a graceful sweep of her right leg and grabbed the horse's reins in one hand, offering her left to shake in greeting. Jemma started to hold out her right hand, but realized halfway that it wouldn't work. She was used to extending her right hand, but the girl appeared to be a lefty.

The girl knew Jemma's mistake and smiled knowingly as Jemma quickly switched hands to shake hers.

A bolt of electricity shot up Jemma's arm when their hands touched, but the other girl didn't seem fazed. They shook hands for just a split second longer than necessary. The stranger's hand was rough and soft at the same time, and clearly strong, yet gentle, but in a firm way. It was all very confusing.

"Are you going to give me the pleasure of knowing your name?" Jemma was proud she finally strung words together to voice a complete sentence.

"Skye." She answered with a smile and finally released Jemma's hand. Skye. Beautiful name, Jemma thought. Never mind. There was something very entertaining on the ranch after all. Forget about biology, Jemma decided it was time she learn a little more about chemistry. Jemma mentally recoiled in horror when she thought about using that cheesy, punny pickup line with this girl who was clearly way out of her league and was probably into dudes with trucks who drank beer.

"Let me get that." Skye offered, picking up the suitcase Jemma had struggled to lug on wheels by one handle. Jemma could see Skye's muscles flex, even underneath the flannel. She swallowed a lump in her throat. Oh, what Fitz would do if he could see her at this moment.

She could almost imagine him right there beside her, embarrassing the crap out of her.

Skye made the same exotic clicking noise she heard earlier and the horse followed behind her in suit.

"Coming?" Skye asked. Jemma blushed, immediately thinking about the that's-what-she-said that Fitz would have whispered to her. Jemma nodded and walked on Skye's left, making sure to stay a few yards away. She was very weary of the big beast that kept nibbling at Skye's hat.

"Calypso's a big teddy bear. He won't do anything to you." Skye informed Jemma when they arrived at the front porch and she returned her bag to the ground.

"See, look." Skye took hold of Jemma's wrist and slowly brought her hand closer to the horse. Jemma closed her eyes tight, still pretty terrified. Then she felt something velvety press against her palm and opened her eyes to see that Calypso was sniffing away at her hand, looking for food.

Skye smiled brightly and released Jemma's wrist. Jemma patted the horse's nose a few times before discretely wiping her hand across her skinny jeans, which were much cleaner than Skye's baggy ones, which appeared to be coated in dust. She wondered what color they were originally.

"I guess I'll be seeing you." Skye tipped her hat and jumped back into the saddle. Before Jemma could put in another word Skye pressed her legs against the horse's side and made a strange noise with her mouth.

It wasn't like what Jemma had imagined when she thought of people riding at her uncle's ranch. She'd never actually been here, only heard about it. When she imagined horseback riding she pictured people yelling 'yee-haw!' and kicking at horses' sides with spiked boots. It wasn't like that though, it looked like Skye and the horse were one entity and they communicated with tiny signals that each understood.

Jemma watched as the horse walked away, but mostly watched the way Skye's hips swung with the movement. Jemma was whipped, and she knew it. But she had something to do. She made it her goal this summer to get to know Skye. She had nothing better to do.

"Jemma!" Her uncle opened the screen door and walked outside with open arms.

"Hey, Uncle Phil." Jemma greeted him, giving him the hug he obviously desired. He still had the same masculine scent she remembered him having every time he visited.

"I can't believe I get you for the whole summer." He smiled at her and picked up her bag, walking her inside with an arm around her shoulders. Jemma couldn't help but try and sneak another glance behind her as they went inside, but Skye was nowhere in sight.


	2. Chapter 2

"So I see you've already met Skye." Jemma's uncle said as he led her into a tiny bedroom with a small bed in the middle and a desk pushed up against one wall. It was very quaint, like it came straight out of a movie. The blanket on the bed looked like a homemade quilt and the walls were wood. The curtains on the large window facing the barn were checkerboard red and white. Classic. Jemma liked the look, it made her feel like she was part of a horse movie.

"Yeah... I have. Who is she exactly?" Jemma asked. She ran her fingers over the dusty window sill. She was going to have to do something about that.

"Stable girl. She works here in return for room and board up in the loft." Phil told her, nodding out her window towards the second floor of the barn, where the two doors hung open. Inside Jemma was freaking out with excitement. Skye was going to be right next door the whole summer.

"Cute, isn't she?" Phil asked, knowing the look on his niece's face. It wasn't hidden in the family that Jemma was a lesbian, and in fact, everyone embraced it. Jemma blushed furiously. Her uncle knew exactly why she looked so flustered.

"Just be careful. You're going home at the end of the summer, remember?" He asked. He was worried that Jemma was going to develop feelings that could end up hurting her, especially since he had no idea what Skye's sexual orientation was. The only person who ever came over was her best friend, Grant Ward.

"Oh. I know." Jemma nodded.

"I'll let you settle in. You can go out and explore if you like. Supper isn't until seven." He told her. Jemma checked her watch. She had about two hours to get her bearings.

Phil left the room and closed the door gently behind him. Jemma took a deep breath and lugged her suitcase up onto her bed so she could open it and unpack.

First Jemma unpacked the large amount of books she brought and stacked them in alphabetical order on her desk, making sure they were all straight. If anyone in the family had ocd, it was Jemma.

When she got to her clothes, she realized how stupid she'd been. She'd packed all of her normal clothes, but none of that was going to do here. And none of it was going to impress Skye. Jemma doubted Skye, being the rough and tumble tomboy she appeared to be, could have much fun with a girl wearing cardigans and flats. Well, shit. Where was she supposed to scrounge up a new wardrobe?

Jemma hung all her clothes up by color in the small closet before taking out her remaining possessions. Bathroom stuff like toothbrushes and such she dropped off in the bathroom down the hall. She placed a few pictures of her mum and dad and Fitz on the small nightstand next to the lamp.

Jemma was beginning to get bored when she realized she had free range of the whole ranch and that she could look around for interesting species. Or Skye. Did Skye count as an interesting species?

Jemma saw movement out of the corner of her eye and looked out the window to find Skye walking into the barn with Calypso. Jemma felt like a stupid little kid who wanted to follow around the older, cooler kid, but she couldn't help herself. She threw her flats back into her suitcase and threw on the only pair of tennis shoes she brought.

Phil smiled at Jemma from the kitchen when she passed and exited the front door. Phil knew Jemma wasn't exactly glad to be there and was happy that Jemma was at least curious enough to take a walk.

"Skye?" Jemma called shyly as she walked into the barn. She didn't know what exactly she was going to do to spend time with her, but she wanted to improve her improvising skills, so, what the heck.

"Hey Jemma." Skye smiled. Oh, god. Skye had taken off her hat and was now running her hand back over her hair to shake it out. Again with that accent though. Jemma liked the way her name sounded off of Skye's tongue much more than how she was usually addressed. What was wrong with her?

"I didn't know horses were such beautiful quadrupeds." Jemma said. She cringed when Skye looked at her like she had two heads.

"I mean, the equus ferus caballus is one of my favorite animals of the ungulate group." Jemma rambled. _Just stop talking!_ Jemma yelled at herself. Why was she so stupid?! Skye was staring at her as if she was speaking Latin or something.

"Uh, high school dropout here." Skye forced a nervous laugh as she continued to brush the sweaty horse in front of her. Jemma's hand traveled to the back of her neck and she wish she could slap herself right now without looking even weirder. Now she'd done it. Great first impression, Jemma.

"Your horse is pretty." Jemma said in a last hope attempt to save herself.

"Yeah, he's a great stallion, isn't he?" Skye smiled. A slapping noise echoed through the barn when she patted his wet side. Jemma shuffled aside to let Skye pass with the bulky saddle that she hung up on a rack beside Jemma.

"Alright, Calypso, you're done." Skye talked to him like he was a human and Jemma found it a little bit odd.

Skye led him into the open stall and removed his halter. Skye leaned against the door that she had closed behind her and put her weight on her elbows.

"Mind grabbing a carrot for me?" Skye said, gesturing to the bucket of them on a nearby table. Jemma obliged and grabbed the first one on top, quickly walking back over and offering it to Skye.

"Go on, feed it to him. You don't want to keep the big guy waiting." Skye smiled, nodding towards Calypso, who was stretching his head out of his stall to reach Jemma, who slowly backed away.

"He's not gonna bite." Skye encouraged her. Jemma hesitantly walked over and held out the carrot by the very tip. Calypso took it between his teeth and Jemma retracted her hand while he munched on it. Jemma smiled. She'd just fed a horse. She'd have to tell Fitz about this in her first letter back.

"So what is it that you do around here?" Jemma asked, finally leaning against the opposite side of the stall door and petting Calypso's forehead.

"I do the normal run of the mill chores, but I also do some herding." Skye shrugged.

"So you're a cowgirl?" Jemma asked. Skye snorted and laughed.

"If I'm a cowgirl you're the preacher's daughter." Skye snickered. She nudged Jemma out of the way with the door and exited Calypso's stall. Jemma couldn't tell if it was meant to be a compliment, insult, observation, or joking comment.

"I have to feed the horses. Want to help?" Skye asked. Jemma nodded and followed Skye into a back room, where Skye soon shoved a bucket full of pellets into her arms.

"That one's for Sunshine. She's the golden mare, second stall on the left." Skye pointed. Jemma walked over to the stall of a horse Jemma could only describe as blonde. The horse eagerly nudged Jemma with her nose and Jemma giggled. She reached over the wall and poured the pellet mix into what Jemma assumed was the container she ate out of.

Skye walked past her carrying another bucket that she dumped into the contained of a tall, black horse.

"Good boy." Skye whispered as she pet behind his ears.

Jemma watched with interest. Skye seemed to have a special relationship with each of the horses. Sort of like how Jemma felt about her cat when she was twelve, before he passed away.

When all of the horses were finally fed, Jemma put her hands on her hips and admired their work. All of the horses' heads were dipped and the barn sounded like chewing.

"Are we done?" Jemma asked.

"Oh honey, there's no such thing as done." Skye laughed at her. "That was only the horses in the barn." Jemma's eyes went wide. There were _more_ horses? How much work did Skye really do to earn that room and board?

Skye tossed Jemma a pair of working gloves and instead of catching them, Jemma held her hands over her face because she wasn't sure what had just been thrown at her. Skye burst out laughing and bent over in front of Jemma to pick them up and hand them to her.

"You've never worked a day in your life, have you?" She joked. Jemma suddenly got very defensive.

"Well I bet you've never completed a homework assignment before." Jemma countered, not being able to distinguish between an insult and sarcasm. Skye frowned and put the gloves on her own hands.

"Yeah. I get it. You're smart and I'm stupid. You've made your point." Skye grumbled and moved a bale of hay from a big pile into the wheel barrow. Jemma felt guilt slap her in the face.

"I thought that you were insulting me and I reacted. I'm sorry." Jemma said quietly.

"Forget it happened." Skye told her, moving a second bale of hay. Skye understood why Jemma did it. She seemed like the type of person who was probably picked on wherever she came from, same as Skye. It was only natural for her to be defensive.

Skye pushed the wheel barrow all the way to the pasture and cut the wires of the hay bales with her pocket knife before dumping it into the horses' feed bin.

"I think it's amazing." Jemma startled Skye by walking up behind her.

"What?" Skye asked. All she did was feed the horses. She did it twice a day.

"The way you're so in sync with the world and the animals on it." Jemma answered. Skye guessed Jemma had never had an opportunity like this, or had at least never taken one. Skye just smiled as she leaned over the wheel barrow to hide her blush from Jemma and brush the last of the hay into the pasture.

"Hey, what's that?" Jemma asked, pointing to a figure at the top of a nearby hill.

"Shit. Skippy jumped the fence again." Skye muttered.

"How are you going to catch him?!" Jemma asked, truly concerned. How was Skye going to control the massive animal if it was hell bent on staying out of a pen?

"I'm a cowgirl, remember?" Skye smirked. She untied a rope from her belt loop, one Jemma hadn't even really noticed. She guessed she just passed it up because Skye was in such a cliché western outfit she didn't even really look at the details. Skye opened the gate to the pasture and picked her horse, a grey horse with white speckles, using the fence as leverage to mount the horse bareback. Jemma wondered what the hell Skye thought she was doing.

"Close the door behind me?" Skye asked. It looked like the horse just magically walked where Skye wanted it to until she noticed one of Skye's hands caught up in the horse's long mane. Jemma did as she was told and watched in awe as Skye took off after the runaway without a saddle.

Now this looked like a western film. Jemma watched from a distance as Skye swung the lasso above her head before successfully catching her target in the loop. Skye's horse walked back and Skye tugged the runaway along with her, making sure he didn't turn around and run again.

"That was amazing!" Jemma appeared as if she was fan-girling over Skye's abilities when Skye returned the horse she was riding back to his pasture. Skye just grinned ear to ear and kept walking the black, young horse by the rope.

"He's going through his rebellious phase." Skye stage whispered, as if she was trying to make sure the horse didn't hear her. He must be a younger one.

"You're going in a stall tonight, mister." Skye scolded him, tapping his nose. He whinnied and nudged Skye with his head so playfully that it threw her off balance. Jemma thought the horse was being mean to her, but relaxed when Skye only laughed.

Jemma was impressed, that was for sure. She'd only been here for a few hours and she'd already met a girl and seen some action. Maybe this trip wasn't going to be so boring after all.

Wait?! A few hours?!

"We're late for dinner!" Jemma exclaimed, checking her watch. It was seven thirty. Phil was probably getting worried.

"Relax. When Phil says seven, he really means he'll try to have dinner ready at seven but will fail miserably and actually have it ready an hour late. Dinner is always at eight." Skye told her. This hardly reassured her though, and Skye had to speed-walk to keep up with Jemma on the way back to the barn to drop off her runaway and get back into the house.

"Hey girls! Enjoy your exploring, Jemma?" Phil asked as they entered the door. Jemma had been waiting to get a royal lecture like she would with her parents, but Phil just clapped her on the shoulder and smiled. The three sat down at the table in the dining room. Jemma took one look at the food and wasn't extremely thrilled. It looked like some kind of meat mashed up and put on a bun. Skye looked pretty happy though, so she figured it was worth a try.

It was extremely messy and Skye laughed at her several times the first few minutes of the meal as Jemma tried to figure out how to eat what Phil and Skye called "sloppy Joe's". When she finally got the hang of it, she wanted to bring the attention away from herself.

"How many horses do you have on the ranch, Uncle Phil?" Jemma asked.

"Thirty-seven." Skye offered the answer eagerly.

"That many? You never told me you had so many horses." Jemma said.

"Only a few of them are mine. Skye has one horse here, but the rest belong to other people." Phil answered her, taking a long drink of his coke through a straw. Jemma realized she'd never eaten a more delicious meal, no matter how bad it was for her nutritionally.

"So you board horses?" Jemma asked for clarification.

"Not exactly. Skye here saved the ranch when she showed up, she brought business. She's like a horse shrink. People pay to leave their horses here and have Skye fix their behavioral problems. She's as close to a horse whisperer as they come." Coulson explained. Jemma looked at Skye in shock. Did the list of cool things she could do ever end?

"Aw, Phil, don't flatter me." Skye teased. "Well, I'm stuffed. I'm going to go crash, but you can bet I'll be back for breakfast." Skye said. Jemma smiled. She had a feeling she would be seeing a lot of Skye for the next two months.

Skye rinsed her plate and put it in the wash before waving goodbye and walking out to the loft.

"You don't mind having her around, do you?" Phil asked Jemma once they were alone.

"What? Of course not." Jemma answered him. Phil knew Skye could be a little direct sometimes and hoped she wouldn't freak Jemma out.

As soon as she had finished Jemma rushed to her desk and closed the door lightly behind her. She unpacked her box of stationary, envelopes, stamps, and pens she brought. She hadn't been sure if she would be able to email him, and she was right. There wasn't a computer in the house. Fitz would hate it here. A phone call back to England would be overly expensive. She had predicted that letters would be her only form of communication for a while.

Jemma settled down at her desk and began her letter.

_Dear Fitz,_

_I had my doubts at first, but I think I might actually like it here. I know it's crazy, but I haven't even touched a book yet. _

_The ranch is so beautiful. It took a little bit to get over the smell, but it's cool seeing horses everywhere. I even fed one of them by hand. They seem a lot bigger in person. _

_I hope you're not too lonely while I'm gone. I don't want to seem like I don't care about you, but I'm not going to be lonely. You see, there's this girl. Her name is Skye..._


	3. Chapter 3

"Morning, Uncle Phil. Wasn't Skye coming for breakfast?" She asked, looking around at the kitchen that was empty besides him. She didn't want to look stupid, so she had gotten dressed before coming out of her room. She wore her loosest jeans and the closest thing she had to a tee shirt.

"That happened an hour and a half ago, Jemma. You're going to have to get up earlier if you want to catch her." Phil told her, clearly amused by the disappointed look on her face.

"She's already fed the horses and she's out there working with them if you want to go watch. Or you could hang out here with your old unc-"

"Thanks, Uncle Phil!" Jemma said as she zipped out of the house. Phil chuckled before getting back to washing dishes.

Jemma found Skye in the round pen, whooping and making noises to get a horse to run around it. It seemed pretty useless to Jemma, but hey, Skye was the expert. Jemma found a conveniently placed stump near the pen and sat in on Skye's session with a brown and white, patchy looking horse.

She seemed to run him around the round pen for half an hour until she finally stopped. She turned her back to the horse and didn't even seem to notice Jemma nearby because she was so wrapped up in whatever it is that she was doing.

It was magical. The horse stopped what he was doing and walked over to Skye, nudging her shoulder. Skye grinned and turned to face him, offering a mint that she had in her pocket.

"What was that?" Jemma asked when she finally approached, climbing onto the first wrung of the metal gate and leaning against it.

"That was a match-up. He trusts me now." Skye told Jemma as she hooked the lead onto the horse's halter.

"If only it were that easy with people." Jemma joked.

"If only." Skye said in a low voice. It was clear there was a tidal wave of emotion behind those two words that Skye obviously wasn't going to reveal. Jemma decided not to push and just let Skye talk about herself when she felt comfortable.

"So how are you enjoying the ranch so far?" Skye asked.

"I don't know. I like the company." Jemma said. While Jemma's second statement caused Skye to smile, she couldn't ignore her first answer. Something made Jemma not like the place and Skye just had to know what it was.

"You don't know? Why not?" She asked, trying to pry a little bit without being rude. Jemma and Skye walked side by side as they brought the horse back to his outdoor stall, one that had a little roofed section.

"I know I could enjoy it, if I were more like you and less like me, but I'm not." Jemma confessed. Skye closed and locked the stall door and stared Jemma in the face.

"What do you mean?" Skye asked.

"You fit in perfectly here. You're amazing with the horses and I'm... I'm just a geek who memorizes facts about the world instead of actually experiencing it." Jemma confessed. The sympathetic look on Skye's face made Jemma regret opening up. She didn't want to throw herself a pity party, but Skye had an effect on her that made her want to talk about her deepest feelings.

"Oh, Jemma." Skye sighed. "You're smart enough to know that you can do something about that." she told her, putting one hand on Jemma's shoulder and using the other to tilt Jemma's jaw upward so they made eye contact.

"How?" Jemma asked with a light in her eyes. If Skye saw something in her there must be something there.

"Experience it." Skye whispered. Before Jemma knew what was going on, Skye led her into the barn by her hand and pulled Calypso out of his stall. Skye pulled over a mounting stool and swung up onto Calypso's back. Skye apparently had an affinity for bareback, she didn't bother with the trouble of tacking up.

She held onto Calypso's mane with one hand and held the other down to Jemma.

"No risk, no reward." Skye told Jemma when she stood there. The corners of Jemma's mouth curled upwards and she took Skye's hand. Jemma stood on the stool and did her best to imitate Skye's movement, but ended up failing miserably. It didn't matter though because Skye pulled her up with surprising ease. Once Jemma was seated solidly behind her, Skye clicked and signaled for Calypso to start walking.

"You're going to fall off the back if you don't scoot closer." Skye commented, referring to Jemma's polite way of trying to give Skye space. Jemma scooted forward a couple inches, but Skye still didn't find this safe enough for a second rider. While her horse continued to walk at a steady pace, Skye reached behind her and found Jemma's hands in her own. She pulled Jemma forward until their bodies were pressed up against each other. Once Skye was finally satisfied with Jemma's position on the horse, she brought her hands forward and had Jemma clasp them together against her stomach.

Skye wouldn't admit it, but she enjoyed the feel of Jemma's arms around her waist and Jemma enjoyed wrapping her arms around Skye. Neither girl knew if the other was happy for the same reasons and it was killing both of them.

"Hold on tight." Skye suddenly called behind her as Calypso began to lope once they hit the open field.

"Skye! Skye, slow down!" Jemma yelled in terror. She clutched Skye's middle like a lifeline and held on for dear life, pressing the side of her face against Skye's shoulder blade and closing her eyes tightly.

When the sensation didn't stop and the adrenaline lowered to a controllable level, Jemma opened her eyes and laughed with delight. They were flying across the field, or at least that's what it felt like to Jemma. To Skye it was a slow little canter and it put a smile on her face to hear Jemma's laugh.

Skye slowed the pace to a trot and she felt Jemma bouncing behind her before they slowed to a walk. Jemma's grip on Skye loosened and she could practically feel the happiness emanating off of Jemma's body, the exact way she remembered feeling the first time she rode.

Jemma was breathless. Even if she had the lungpower, she had no words to describe the feeling. It may have been the riding, but it also could have been Skye. Maybe a little of both.

Without warning, Skye brought her left leg over to the right side of the horse so that she could slide right off.

"Hey! What are you doing? Help me down!" Jemma told her. Skye just smiled up at her mischievously.

"Scoot forward, for starters." Skye told her, putting her fingers to her lips as if she was judging Jemma's form, which she was. Jemma only did what she was told because Skye clearly had control of the horse and Jemma didn't want to be sitting in the back without someone to grab onto if he was to move again.

"Oh, no. Tell me how to get off without falling on my face." Jemma begged Skye.

"You can't get off at the beginning of the ride, Jems." Skye teased. "Now heels down, toes up."

_Dear Fitz,_

_Skye is teaching me how to ride..._


	4. Chapter 4

"Sit up straight and keep those shoulders back." Skye instructed Jemma. She still hadn't graduated from walking in the round pen, even though Jemma was eager to get back out there, and she wasn't going to until Skye was absolutely sure Jemma was ready. Phil probably wouldn't be too keen on letting her stick around if she killed his niece.

"Are you a drill sergeant or something?" Jemma asked jokingly, holding herself in the position she thought Skye desired.

"There! Hold it!" Skye finally told her after almost an hour of tweaking.

"This isn't very comfortable." Jemma complained.

"It will be natural after a while." Skye commented, turning to follow Jemma's progress around the round pen.

"You sure? It feels like I'm going to get stuck like this." Jemma complained again. She was starting to get sore in places she hadn't ever been sore and she felt stiff in the saddle. She just wished she could learn this as fast as she learned things in school. She'd never had to take anything so slowly and it irritated her.

"Oh, you will. Ever heard of saddle butt?" Skye asked, imagining how Jemma was going to react to her inner thighs being sore for a week. Jemma shook her head no, hoping the horrors ahead weren't as bad as she felt like they were going to be.

Calypso's ears perked at the sound of an incoming truck with a horse trailer attached, and it appeared to have one hundred percent of Skye's attention as well.

"Woah." Skye said in a low tone of voice to bring the horse Jemma was on to a stop. "Wait here. I think that's a new arrival." Skye told Jemma, as if she could actually go anywhere until Skye helped her. Skye ducked in between two bars of the fence and jogged over the where the truck backed onto the property.

"Grant!" Jemma heard a high pitched squeal and her heart dropped into her stomach when she saw Skye launch herself into some guy's arms. He lifted her feet off the ground and swung her in a little circle before setting her down again.

"You're back a week early!" She exclaimed.

"I am. The cattle drive ran quicker than expected." He smiled. Ward appeared to notice Jemma on Calypso and frowned. He whispered something into Skye's ear that made her blush and he slapped her ass playfully as she walked back over to Jemma.

"Go get the filly, you stud." Grant had whispered into Skye's ear. If he knew anything about his best friend he knew someone had to be really special to ride Calypso. He was friends with her for six months before she let him touch him.

"Jemma! This is my best friend, Grant Ward. Grant, this is Phil's niece, Jemma." Skye introduced the two. She entered the pen and held Calypso while Jemma dismounted in an awkward fashion.

"Hi." She mumbled.

"British. Who woulda guessed?" Grant joked, holding his hand out to Jemma. She shook it, but the little green monster in the pit of her stomach was already eating her alive with jealousy. So Skye was into guys with trucks that drank beer.

Grant seemed to give Jemma a once-over that made her feel even more embarrassed, because his eyes lingered on her white tennis shoes. The pair of them were both wearing brown riding boots. Skye slapped Grant on the shoulder and glared at him.

"I can put Calypso away with the new horse my boss wants you to work with." Ward offered.

"Yeah, sure. What's my job?" Skye asked, leaning against the gate on one hip.

"Brand new horse. There isn't much history on him and no one can ride him." Grant informed her. Jemma didn't really know what they were talking about, but she nodded as if she did.

"I can do that. Wouldn't be the first time." Skye smiled.

"Jemma, why don't you go put away your helmet, I've got a bit of catching up to do with Grant." Skye told her. Jemma was simmering with angry jealousy, but she didn't want Skye to know that, so she did as Skye suggested and walked into the tack room to hang it on its designated hook. She felt like a dog that was just left outside on the welcome mat for the night.

"Nice catch." Ward snickered at his best friend as they watched Jemma enter the barn.

"She's not a 'catch'. I don't even think she likes me." Skye sighed.

"She'd be crazy not to." Ward smiled at her. Skye smiled back up at him and he ruffled her hair, which never ceased to annoy her.

"But seriously, we've got to do something about those shoes." Ward commented as Jemma trudged back out of the barn.

"I'm working on it." Skye told him. "Do you want to stay for lunch? I'm sure Phil's going to make enough." Skye offered.

"No thanks, I can't. You know Jill will kill me if I delay getting home. And it's impossible for Phil to make enough for me as well if you're there." Ward told her with a joking smile as Jemma rejoined the group.

"She's welcome to join us." Skye said cheerfully. It was then that Jemma glanced down at Ward's left hand and spotted a golden band. He was married! He and Skye really were just friends. Jemma went from annoyed to perky again in a matter of seconds.

"We need some alone time after all these weeks, if you know what I mean." Ward winked at her.

"Oh, get outta here." Skye laughed at him, punching him in the shoulder.

"Alright." Ward laughed. "I'll put away the horses. Guess I'll leave you to it." He waved as he took Calypso's reins and disappeared into the barn.

"Don't know about you, but I'm starving." Skye said, turning to Jemma. It looked like Jemma was staring into space until she shifted her weight and winced.

"You ok?" Skye asked.

"I think I just discovered what you meant when you mentioned the term 'saddle butt'." Jemma groaned. Skye laughed shamelessly at Jemma as she imitated Jemma's waddling back to the house.

"Saddle butt?" Phil asked the moment he saw the way Jemma was standing with her legs a few feet apart. Skye let out another loud laugh that was quickly silenced by a metaphorical dagger launched from Jemma's eyes.

"I'm never standing up again." Jemma moaned as if it were the end of the world and plopped down in a chair at the kitchen table.

"In a hundred years, someone will find your skeleton in this chair. They'll have bury it in an unmarked grave. I'll be dead and gone and no one will be able to identify the body." Skye pondered the thought.

"They'll perform an autopsy and determine that the cause of death was 'saddle butt'." Jemma added.

"Jemma Simmons, did you just make a witty joke that didn't rely too heavily on scientific fact?" Skye asked in mock disbelief as Coulson set a plateful of sandwiches in the center of the table. Phil obviously loved preparing food, that's one of the many reasons Skye was such a good fit around the ranch. She ate a _ton._

Skye dived right into it, finishing three in the time it took for Jemma to eat one. Coulson smiled at the pair of them, the way they looked at each other reminded him of the way he looked at another certain someone.

"Melinda!" Phil exclaimed as she walked through the front door like she could read his mind.

"Who's this?" Jemma mouthed to Skye, who always seemed to have the answers. Skye had to take a huge swallow to answer.

"Oh, that's Melinda May. She's the town sheriff and Phil's girl-" Skye's eyes widened and Jemma turned to find the sheriff glaring at her.

"Friend. Phil's friend." Skye said with her hands up in surrender. Melinda May nodded in approval, an almost-smirk showing on her face.

"Ready to go back out Jemma?" Skye asked after less than ten minutes of eating. Jemma stared at her in horror.

"Kidding." She smiled. Jemma rolled her eyes and Phil laughed at their banter.

"Do you have any reason for coming over or are you just dropping by?" Phil asked Sheriff May. Jemma couldn't even see the change in expression because she wasn't trained to notice, but both Skye and Phil knew something was wrong.

"Another herd of cattle was stolen just south of here. I would keep a close eye on yours, the thieves seem to be headed this way." May warned them. Coulson looked to Skye.

"I hate to put you on even more hours, but..."

"Yeah, I got it. You can't ride like you used to. I can take a couple night shifts." Skye answered him, stuffing another bite of sandwich into her mouth.

"Make sure to take the shot gun." Phil warned her. Jemma looked back and forth between the two in concern. Was something dangerous really going on?

"Don't worry Jemma, I'm sure everything will be fine." Phil assured her.

"Well, have a lovely afternoon you guys. Nice to meet you, Jemma." May said.

"You as well." Jemma smiled, laughing a little bit at how Skye was still eating. She was like an endless pit.

"Stay for a sandwich." Phil offered.

"As much as I'd like to, I've got some things I have to get to." May politely turned him down. "You don't have to worry about having extras though, you've got the human garbage disposal." May nodded towards Skye. Skye smiled cheekily at May's teasing as she walked out of the house.

"Skye, have you shown Jemma the loft yet?" Phil asked, trying to pick up the conversation once more.

Jemma looked at Skye with interest. She didn't know if Skye wanted to show her, but she'd love to see where Skye lived.

"I'll show her right now, if she can get up the steps." Skye joked. Did the teasing ever end in this house?

"There's something I want to give you up there anyway." Skye smirked and grabbed Jemma's hand. She already had a habit of leading her around like that. Jemma guessed it was second nature for her to lead, due to all the horse work. Skye stepped back inside and grabbed one last sandwich before pulling Jemma out to the barn faster than she could walk comfortably.

Skye practically had to drag Jemma up the steps, but they finally made it up to the loft.

Jemma gasped. It was breathtaking. Skye made the loft like her own personal clubhouse. It was childish and mature at the same time. A cot was tucked against one wall with a trunk at the foot. A dresser with a mirror attached was against the opposite wall.

One wall was entirely open, it was the two doors Jemma could see hanging open from her window. Almost the whole ranch was visible from there.

On the ground between the two pieces of furniture was a large mat with a horseshoe pattern on it. Hanging around the upside-down v-shaped ceiling were strands of what appeared to be Christmas lights, with a bottle of varying size and color glued to each bulb so that the light was inside the neck of the bottle and lit up the whole thing. Jemma could only imagine how beautiful and colorful the lights were at night.

A strand of what appeared to be tabs off of soda cans strung on twine was hung near the open doors. Whenever a breeze gently swirled through the loft, the little pieces waved about and made soft metallic sounds that when put together with the subtle sound of the glass bottles clinking together were a sweet symphony.

Skye had varying cowboy hats of different designs stacked up on her dresser and various articles of clothing like jean jackets and more of the flannels Jemma loved Skye in were draped over the metal head and foot rails of the bed.

It looked very lived in and very comfortable.

"It's not much, but it's home." Skye shoved her thumbs into her pockets and shrugged.

"I love it." Jemma breathed, and it was the truth.

Skye still seemed self conscious though, she quickly picked up a few shirts and stuffed them in the top drawer of the dresser. Jemma couldn't help but notice the only photos were of Skye, Ward, and her uncle. No other family.

"What was it you wanted to show me?" Jemma asked, trying to stop Skye's frantic attempt to clean the room.

"Oh! Right. I wanted to give you these." Skye told Jemma. Skye got down on her knees and pulled a pair of riding boots from under the bed.

"Oh, no, Skye, I couldn't." Jemma told her. She knew riding boots were expensive and guessed that Skye didn't have much pocket money.

"Really, take them. I grew out of them last year and they're just going to gather dust." Skye said, pushing them into Jemma's arms.

"Try them on." Skye asked. Jemma couldn't say no after seeing the excited look on Skye's face. So she sat down on Skye's bed and pulled the boots over her feet. Immediately she felt like they belonged there. They were so worn in and comfortable it felt like she simply slipped on another pair of socks.

"So?" Skye asked nervously.

"They're perfect." Jemma told her. The smile on Skye's face made Jemma giddy.

"They're all yours." Skye told her. Skye put on one of her cowboy hats and instantly became ten times more adorable. She looked through the pile and pulled out a second one, a pale hat with a brown strip of leather around the base, placing it on top Jemma's head after she stood up.

Jemma began to take it off, but Skye put her hand on top of Jemma's head to prevent her from doing so.

"I promise I don't have lice." Skye joked.

"Skye, really, I can't take your things." Jemma insisted.

"Oh, you're loaning that hat for the summer. Wouldn't dream of giving it to you." Skye smiled. Jemma rolled her eyes.

Skye walked over to the edge of the loft where the double doors opened into midair. Skye sat down and hung her legs over the edge, motioning for Jemma to join her by patting the ground next to her. Jemma was weary of the height and falling off, but Skye's fingers curled around her sleeve reassured her.

"Look." Skye said quietly and pointed. The group of horses in the pasture were on the move, the group of them running across the field together as one.

"It's breathtaking." Jemma said quietly.

"It really is. I love it here more than anywhere in the world." Skye confided in her. Skye seemed pretty comfortable and ready to open up.

"Where are your parents, Skye?" Jemma asked. She hadn't meant to ask that question. She had meant to ask something more subtle, like if she was just here for the summer too or something like that, but she just blurted out the question without thinking. It was the wrong question, too. What was wrong with her? She shouldn't ask such a personal question on the third day of knowing someone!

Skye turned her face away from Jemma and to her it looked like Skye may have been wiping away a few tears with the back of her wrist.

"Skye, I'm really sorry..." Jemma apologized as Skye stood up.

"No, it's not your fault." Skye sniffled. Jemma's heart broke when Skye turned to face her and finally revealed her pained expression.

"I should be over it after sixteen years. They left me on the fire department's doorstep." Skye said, folding her arms across her chest protectively.

"Phil helped me get emancipated." Skye blurted out.

"You didn't have to tell me any of that..." Jemma told Skye.

"I wanted to." Skye whispered.

* * *

_Dear Fitz,_

_I promised you I would write every day, and I intend on keeping that promise. I'm assuming I don't have a letter from you and you don't have a letter from me yet because it may take a while to get letters from the United States to England._

_Skye opened up to me today. I'm not going to tell you what she said about herself because it's personal and would be rude to turn around and tell you all of it, but it was really impressive that she told me. Don't worry, she's not a criminal or anything._

_Speaking of criminals, apparently someone is stealing cattle around here and although Phil and Skye are telling me everything is fine, I can tell they're worried. _

_Do you think I should just ask Skye out? We're getting closer, but I don't want to ruin anything..._


	5. Chapter 5

_Dear Simmons,_

_You suck. I'm here having a horrible time with your parents bugging me. They won't leave me alone. They keep inviting me over like you would; I think they miss you. But I'm happy that you're happy. I can put up with this for two months. I even convinced the school to assign me a few projects to work on, so I should be all set._

_I would normally tell you to ASK HER OUT, but considering you're practically living with this girl for the rest of the summer, I would wait. You don't want it to get awkward if she turns out to be straight. Look for hints that she likes you and give hints that you like her. If she doesn't ask you out by the end of summer, go for it..._

Jemma smiled as she read his letter. She imagined him saying all of the words written instead of reading them in her own voice. She missed him.

It surprised Jemma that when Fitz mentioned the school projects, she didn't feel jealous. She didn't even feel like she was missing anything. Jemma was horrified that deep down that she really wouldn't want to do a project right now if she had been given one. That was a first. Jemma hadn't touched her books since she unpacked them and was wondering if Skye was some kind of witch that placed a spell on her making her hate anything academic.

Jemma walked into the kitchen at her normal time like she had been the whole first week here, seven o' clock, only to be shocked by Skye's presence. Usually Skye was in and out by six. Jemma was worried something was wrong and her fears were confirmed when she walked further into the kitchen.

Skye looked like she was asleep while she poured her coffee into a mug. Dark circles surrounded her eyes and her hair was a mess, even though she tried to hide it with her hat.

"Skye? Are you alright?" Jemma asked.

"I'm fine." Skye mumbled as she plopped down at the kitchen table, holding her mug in both hands.

Jemma sat across from Skye and she noticed everything. She noticed Skye's bloodshot eyes and the way her eyelids drooped, as well as the slow, delayed motions of her hands when she brought the cup of coffee up to her lips.

"Did you sleep at all last night?" Jemma asked her.

"Yeah. Of course I did." Skye lied. Jemma gave Skye a harsh look and Skye knew she'd been made.

"Where's Phil?" Jemma asked.

"He's out watching-" Skye was interrupted by her own yawn before she finished her answer. "-the cattle." So that's why Skye was so tired. Jemma was almost mad at her uncle for asking Skye to stay out all night like that.

"Give me that." Jemma stole Skye's coffee mug and dumped its contents into the sink.

"What are you going?!" Skye complained.

"You don't need caffeine. You're going to bed." Jemma demanded, pointing at the door.

"I have work to do." Skye sighed and got out of her chair.

"You can't. You can hardly stand." Jemma frowned.

"Mr. Crowley is coming to get his Shadow this afternoon, expecting him to be able to walk into a trailer, but he's not ready yet." Skye informed Jemma, pushing past her to get out to the barn, but not for the reason Jemma would like.

"At least let me help." Jemma told her. She could see how stressed Skye was and all she wanted to do was help, but Skye was too grumpy and frustrated.

"You want to help? Just leave me alone for a while so I can get this done. I don't mean to be rude, but even though this is summer vacation for you, I still have the work I do all year." Skye snapped, bringing her fingers to her temples. Jemma couldn't help feeling hurt because there was truth to what Skye said, but she knew Skye wasn't herself right now. Jemma had forgotten that while summer for her is time off school, it's extra busy for Skye.

Jemma walked back to the house, defeated, and watched as Skye pulled Shadow, the tall black horse, on a lead towards their horse trailer.

Jemma watched from the window, still slightly concerned as Skye tried to convince the horse to step into the trailer. She held out a carrot to tempt him and he finally took entered the trailer half-way. It all happened so fast. She saw Shadow tug back a bit, and when Skye didn't let him get out, she saw him step all the way into the trailer for a split second. The trailer started shaking and from inside Jemma could hear the metal banging and the horse's protest.

Then Jemma saw the horse back out of the trailer and rear a few times before finally settling and walking around a few steps, an empty lead dragging by his hooves.

Jemma rushed outside and towards the trailer, where she called Skye's name once before entering the trailer and finding her propped up by her elbows on the ground.

"Skye!" Jemma dropped to her knees next to Skye, who winced as she tried to sit up.

"What happened?!" She asked.

"It was my fault, I wasn't seeing the obvious signs. I wasn't paying attention to him. I deserved that kick." Skye told Jemma as she tried to pull away. Jemma didn't fail to notice Skye holding one arm around herself protectively.

"Let me see." Jemma demanded. She didn't even wait for Skye's permission before pulling her shirt up to reveal a nasty bruise that was already forming.

"Seriously, Jemma, I'm perfectly fine. I promise-" Skye's protests stopped short when Jemma's cool fingers made contact with her skin and Skye bit her lip. Jemma moved her hand along Skye's ribs, noting where her hand was when Skye winced and feeling for broken bones.

"I think you're clear." Jemma told her, tugging Skye's shirt back into place. She was suddenly embarrassed by her directness.

"Thanks." Skye muttered, pulling herself to her feet and stepping out of the trailer to grab Shadow's lead.

"Still want to help?" She offered.

"Yes, stupid." Jemma smiled. Skye handed Jemma the carrots that had been sticking out of her pocket and instructed her on what to do.

"Just make clicking noises with your tongue and offer him the carrots. I'll stand right next to his head and lead him in." Skye said. They started five feet away from the trailer and Shadow followed Jemma until she stepped up onto the back of the trailer.

"Come on, Shadow. You almost had this two days ago." Skye spoke to him gently. Skye massaged a spot on his forehead with two fingers and kissed his temple. Jemma smiled at both of them.

"Just a couple steps." Skye told him, gently tugging at his lead. Skye nodded to Jemma who took the silent signal and coaxed Shadow with the carrots and soft noises. Once Shadow was all the way into the trailer, Skye shook her head no to Jemma, who was about to exclaim some words meaning success.

"You're a good boy." Jemma told the horse instead, patting the side of his neck. Skye smiled at her. Jemma seemed to be more comfortable with horses the more Skye spent time with her.

Jemma was quite thrilled that she got through to both Skye and the horse. Every day Skye seemed less and less like a idol and more and more like a real person. She wasn't just the pretty girl who rode horses anymore. She was Skye, who had the outward, forward personality of a friendly dog and the stubbornness of a bull. She had an amazing sense of humor and a soft side that she showed occasionally. She even had a large work ethic, which surprised Jemma because Skye had dropped out of school.

Once Shadow was happy in his stall once more, Skye tossed Jemma her riding helmet.

"Am I going to the round pen on Calypso?" She asked, knowing it was time for one of Skye's spontaneous riding lessons.

"Nope. Go get Sunshine, we're going for a trail ride." Skye told her, knowing how thrilled Jemma would be to get out of the pen.

Jemma had tacking up pretty much down to a science now, but she still couldn't mount correctly. She couldn't get herself all the way up on the horse without a stool, but she was working on it.

"Uncle Phil! Want to join?" Jemma asked as Phil walked by on his horse, finally having arrived back from the cattle pasture.

"I'd normally take you up on that offer, but I think I need a break." Phil told them. Skye just smiled and nodded, but turned to face Jemma on Sunshine to her left once he was out of earshot.

"That's code for 'I'm going to go visit Melinda May but I don't want you to know'." Skye told Jemma.

"So where are we going on this trail ride?" Jemma asked.

"I don't know. There's no destination." Skye told her.

"You know I know what you're thinking, right?" Jemma broke the silence as their horses walked under a grove of trees. Skye couldn't help but admire Jemma's perfect form on Sunshine as they walked.

"What is it that I'm thinking?" Skye asked curiously.

"You want to go check on the cattle." Jemma told Skye. Skye sighed and shifted the reins around in her left hand. Her right was fidgeting against her thigh.

"Ok, you caught me." Skye admitted.

"Why are you so determined to watch them?" Jemma asked, wondering why Skye would stay up all night and continue to check on them during the day.

"Because this is my home. The only one I've ever had." Skye told Jemma sadly. "Although I do make money with the horse training, it's not enough to keep the ranch running. The main income is from raising those cattle. If they got stolen and Phil had to sell the ranch, I don't know what I'd do." Skye explained. It all made sense now.

Jemma reached over with the hand not holding her reins and placed it on Skye's shoulder.

"Everything is going to work out, you'll see." Jemma told her.

"Maybe for you, Jemma, but I'm not that lucky. I never have been." Skye was clearly on the verge of tears at the very thought of losing the little life she'd cut out for herself on the ranch with Phil Coulson.

Both girls were silent until they reached the top of the hill, where they could look down on the herd of cattle. Jemma was impressed, there were more of them than she imagined. The scene below looked so calm and perfect, like it was from a photographer's website on the internet.

"Is this where you stayed out all night?" Jemma asked. Skye finally admitted that she really hadn't slept the previous night and confirmed that, yes, she had been sitting here with Calypso, coffee, and a shot gun all night long.

"I'll stay with you tonight. We can take shifts." Jemma offered.

"You don't have to do that, this is my job. I can handle it." Skye told her, not wanting to make Jemma sit outside in the chilly air when she wasn't used to anything like it.

"Judging by your bloodshot eyes, you actually can't." Jemma told her. Skye knew there wasn't any way Jemma wasn't going to show up tonight now that Skye had given up the location of her watch tower.

"Fine." Skye finally gave in.


	6. Chapter 6

"Jemma? Can we talk for a minute?" Jemma was pulled out of a book when her uncle knocked on her bedroom door and stuck his head in. She had finally started reading, but only to calm her nerves about spending the night with Skye. No, it wasn't like that. They were just going to be outside with the cattle. It wasn't supposed to be romantic at all, Jemma kept trying to tell herself. One of them was probably going to be asleep the whole time anyway.

"Sure." Jemma crossed her legs while sitting in the desk chair. Phil walked further inside the room and sat down on the bed. The springs squeaked and moved up and down for a moment before settling. Jemma was beginning to get anxious, she'd never seen such a serious expression on her goofy American uncle before.

"Skye told me you were going to watch the cattle with her tonight." He said seriously.

"That's correct." Jemma said. The pitch of her voice raised slightly. Did he have a problem with it? Jemma knew she shouldn't have taken advantage of the freedom Uncle Phil gave her. Her parents were always so strict, she should have seen it coming.

"I don't know if I'm comfortable with you going." He told her. Jemma knew there was something he wasn't telling her, his arms were crossed against his chest and he looked very, very concerned.

"I know you're hiding something from me and I'm betting it's about the cattle thieves." Jemma told him.

"I appreciate that you're looking out for my cattle and everything, but it's a little too dangerous for you." He told her.

"I'm not just looking out for your cattle, I'm looking out for Skye. Are you not? You didn't see her earlier this morning, she was _exhausted._ How can you let her do that to herself for you?" Jemma snapped at him. She covered her mouth with her hand, obviously regretting saying something in that tone of voice to an adult. Phil didn't seem to mind as much as her parents would have though. He treated her like a normal human being instead of a puppet.

"Obviously you're not going to listen to me unless I'm straightforward with you. I'm going to be completely, one hundred-percent honest and tell you that I think the thieves are going to make a go at my herd tonight. Sheriff May has been tracking their movements and it appears by the pattern that we're next." He explained. Jemma gasped. It was as bad as she thought, Skye really was going to go out there in the middle of the night to try and stop a group of thieves that have the manpower to steal an entire herd of cows.

"Why are you sending Skye out like that?!" Jemma asked furiously.

"We have the police on our side, but we could use as many people as we can get-"

"Then why are you trying to stop me from going?" Jemma interrupted. Visiting here obviously had a bad influence on her. If her parents could see her now. They would definitely regret sending her here. She didn't care about schoolwork, was back talking and interrupted superiors, and had already decided that she was going to add sneaking out to the list.

"As many people as we can get that can handle themselves in a situation like this." Coulson finished, ignoring her impoliteness. He could see why Jemma was worried. He was worried about Skye too, she was like the kid he never had. He had initially tried to convince Skye not to come, but she volunteered, and he didn't have power over her as he did Jemma, because Skye was emancipated. She made her own decisions.

"You're going to stay here tonight. You can keep one of the radios with you if you want to be informed, but you're not coming anywhere near." Phil ordered, handing Jemma a walkie-talkie. Jemma huffed. She knew there was nothing else she could say at this point to change his mind.

"Dinner's in the fridge. We're leaving in ten minutes." Phil told her. He stood up and left the room without another word.

Jemma moved to her window and stared outside at Skye, who was checking Calypso's saddle. Jemma's eyes landed on the rifle strapped to her back. Jemma was definitely not comfortable just waiting here if the situation called for a gun.

Skye caught sight of Jemma in the window and smiled sadly. Jemma didn't return it, she was too mad. She was a little angry that Skye told on her like that, but she was mostly mad that Skye was putting herself in danger for her uncle.

Skye saw Jemma's angry expression and quickly looked away, busying herself even though she was clearly all prepared.

* * *

No more than five minutes after Phil and Skye left on horseback with Sheriff May did Jemma slip on the boots and hat Skye gave her and slipped out of her room. She collected a few items that would be of use, like a flashlight, binoculars, and the walkie-talkie Phil gave her, and jogged to the barn underneath the setting sun that painted the sky a shade of red, almost like blood splattered across the clouds

Jemma had to admit that this was the most thrilling thing she'd ever done, and she knew that Fitz would never in a million years believe this story when she recounted it to him. Hopefully her parents would never find out.

She pulled Sunshine out of her stall and put on the saddle and bridle without supervision for the first time. Jemma saw it as a good sign that tonight was the first time she mounted the horse correctly without the aid of a stool.

Jemma ran a checklist in her head. She made sure her feet were in the stirrups and that the saddle wasn't loose before pressing her legs against Sunshine's sides and asking her to trot. She was still a little bouncy, but Skye had told her she had a naturally good seat and would get the hang of it in no time. Jemma itched to click her tongue and take off running after Skye, but she hadn't loped before without having Skye to cling to.

The path looked different when it was darker, but Jemma managed to find her way back to the top of the hill. She had expected to find Skye sitting in the grass there, but she was greeted by a family of crickets chirping.

Skye lied to her, Jemma realized. She was pissed, but also glad Skye cared enough to do something like that.

"They're closing in. How do I proceed?" Jemma heard Skye's voice crackle to life when she turned on the radio device.

"You don't. That's our job." Jemma dismounted Sunshine as she listened to Sheriff May's voice. "Just let me know if anything changes on the east." She answered. The east. Jemma brought the binoculars up to her face and looked to the side of the field that the sun was setting on, and sure enough, there was Skye, tucked away in the bushes.

She looked into the main part of the field, where something was obviously going on. A huge, semi-sized trailer was parked in the middle and many men were trying to round up the herd. Fire burned in Jemma's veins and she wondered if there was anything she was going to be able to do besides being a spectator from a height and warn them if she saw something they didn't.

"Hey, kid." She heard a gruff man's voice behind her and quickly shut off her radio to silence it. A man, presumably one of the thieves, was holding Sunshine's reins. Jemma was about to call for help, but a second man jumped Jemma from behind and clamped a hand over her mouth. She screamed and kicked, but it was no use. Jemma just hoped to god that they didn't turn on her walkie-talkie, or they would be hearing the plans to arrest them and they'd probably find Skye, Phil, May, and everyone else.

What the hell did she get herself into? Why couldn't she just listen to people?

* * *

Skye was waiting patiently, or as patiently as possible, for May to order action. She didn't like seeing those awful men herding Phil's cattle. Skye looked behind her to make sure Calypso was still safely tied to a tree and hidden out of sight from the main part of the field, and only looked back at the field when Phil spoke through the walkie-talkie.

"Is that Sunshine?" He asked. Skye's head whipped around. Skye was closer than everyone else and confirmed quietly over the radio that, yes, the horse one man was riding and herding cattle with was indeed Sunshine.

_Jemma._ Skye thought. When she saw a man dragging Jemma over to another man, who appeared to be the boss, by her forearm, Skye lost it. She didn't wait for May's orders and ran for Calypso.

Skye's next action caused chaos that would wake neighbors for miles around.

She charged onto the field on Calypso, yelling like a maniac and firing warning shots into the air. May's men jumped out from behind bushes and trees and started capturing as many of the theives as possible. It wasn't too difficult, they had the field surrounded anyway.

Skye could see one of the men escaping, but decided she needed to rescue Jemma more than she needed to catch the one guy.

Skye charged at the man holding Jemma captive and Calypso reared on Skye's command, thrashing his front hooves threateningly enough that the man released Jemma and made a run for it. Jemma lay on her back where the man had thrown her, staring up in awe at Skye.

Sunshine began to try and throw off her rider when she got spooked by the gunshot, and Skye had Calypso run over so she could grab her reins when the rider was finally flung to the ground, where handcuffs locked his wrists together courtesy of Sheriff May.

Skye pointed to Sunshine and Jemma mounted in a hurry, holding onto the horn of the saddle tightly when Sunshine took off running, following Skye like it was second nature, as Skye led Jemma away from the action.

Skye dismounted Calypso before they were even completely stopped at the top of the hill and her hat toppled off her head into the grass.

Jemma silently dismounted Sunshine and forced herself to look Skye in the eye.

"What the hell, Jemma?!" Skye yelled at her with so much force it felt like Skye had physically pushed her.

"I just-"

"What is wrong with you?! You could have been killed just there!" Skye continued to scream. Her face was turning red and she was pacing back and forth in front of Jemma, running her hand through her hair.

"I was trying to-"

"That was stupid! _Stupid_ and _irresponsible_ and _dangerous _and-"

"SKYE!" Jemma finally interrupted, grabbing her arm. Skye gave Jemma such a glare Jemma let go of her and took a step back. She could see how furious Skye was, but when Skye stopped yelling it was even worse. Tears were escaping Skye's eyes and Jemma had no idea what to do other than stand there like the idiot Skye was telling her she was.

Skye said nothing more. Jemma sort of knew the reason Skye was acting this way. She assumed it was the same feeling, but much more intense, Jemma had felt when Skye refused to go to sleep that morning and ended up getting kicked. Jemma knew Skye had been terrified Jemma was going to get hurt, and she was mad that Jemma put herself in such a situation.

When Skye was finally willing to try and make eye contact with Jemma, it only lasted a second before Skye had to look away. She couldn't even deal with the thought of what could have happened to Jemma and she was too pissed to even look at her.

Skye picked her hat out of the grass and leapt onto Calypso, riding off without waiting to see if Jemma was following. When Jemma finally stopped shaking, she slowly rode Sunshine back to the ranch, mentally preparing herself for what was going to happen next. She was in deep horse shit.


	7. Chapter 7

Jemma could stare at the ceiling for twenty-one seconds without blinking. She knew this because for the last hour all she'd been doing was staring at the ceiling from her position on her bed, lying on her back with her left arm hanging off the side.

When Jemma had returned with Sunshine, she hadn't even caught a glance of Skye. When she entered the house, she had to sit there for half an hour while Phil yelled at her and lectured her. She almost got herself killed, she almost got everyone else killed, one of the thieves got away... at the time the lecture seemed endless and she wanted nothing more that for it to be over, but she preferred that to the position she was in right now.

She was afraid to be anywhere else in the house because Phil was still boiling, and she was afraid to go anywhere else because she still felt bad about how her actions affected Skye. She had seen Skye after Phil was done yelling at her, but Skye hadn't known it. Through her window Jemma had seen Skye sitting on the ledge in the loft for a few minutes, and she had watched when Skye got up and closed the doors for the first time since Jemma arrived a month ago.

Finally when Jemma was bored out of her mind she got out her stationary and wrote to Fitz.

_Hey Fitz,_

_Either Skye really cares about me, or I've ruined any chance I have. Remember how I told you about the cattle thieves? I butted in where I didn't belong and got myself kidnapped- I know, I'll explain it much better next month when I see you again- and Skye is immensely angry with me._

_I think I'm starting to get a little homesick. I miss you so much. I can't wait until everything is back to normal for me. I'm starting to wish I never came here at all. All I've done is wreak havoc._

* * *

Jemma hesitantly entered the barn the next morning after eating breakfast in a silent kitchen with Phil. Skye looked up from cleaning the stall she was in, but didn't smile or say hello like she usually did.

"Skye..." Jemma began, wringing her hands in front of her. Skye looked up again and raised her eyebrows, waiting for Jemma to speak.

"I know what I did was stupid. Really, really stupid, but I was just worried about you. I completely understand if you hate me-"

"Jemma! Seriously?" The volume of Skye's voice was high, but she didn't sound angry anymore. Jemma just stood there clueless, waiting for Skye to expand upon her sudden outburst.

"The whole entire reason I was mad is because I feel the exact opposite of hate." Skye told Jemma, putting down everything in her arms and walking over to her.

"Really?" Jemma asked. She couldn't tell if this was Skye being a friend or Skye trying hint that she was more than a friend.

"I was mad because I was afraid that something really terrible was going to happen to you." Skye told Jemma, affectionately pinching her just under the shoulder.

"Oh." Jemma responded. She was so sure Skye was hinting at something there, but she was just worried, like a friend should be.

"Are we good?" Skye asked. Jemma wasn't exactly sure what Skye was saying, but she was guessing it was an American way to ask if they were on acceptable terms with each other. Jemma nodded and Skye pulled her into an unexpected hug.

This was actually the first time Skye had initiated a hug between them, and Jemma embraced it. Literally. She accepted the hug and wrapped her arms around Skye's waist, burying her face in Skye's long, brown hair. Jemma loved the feeling of Skye's firm, muscled body and she loved the heat that seemed to radiate off of her skin. The hug felt more intimate than what should be going on between her and her uncle's employee or even between friends, but that may have just been Jemma. There really was no way to tell, and it was driving her insane.

Jemma still couldn't tell whether Skye was interested in girls, the only person Skye ever mentioned or invited over was Ward, and he obviously wasn't her boyfriend. He was an adult and married.

"Phil will forgive you soon, too. He just worries about you." Skye assured Jemma.

"I know." Jemma sighed.

"I have some work to do and I'd like some company..." Skye suggested. Jemma nodded and Skye gave one of her hundred dollar smiles.

"Is this Ward's boss's horse?" Jemma asked when they came to a stop in front of the stall of a young coppery colored horse with wild eyes.

"Yup. I think he would be great if I could just get a saddle on him." Skye sighed, obviously admiring the beast.

"What about bareback?" Jemma asked.

"Yeah, I already tried that. I can get on him if I try, but I think it's the saddle that really scares him." Skye answered. "Whenever I try to drape something over him he freaks out." She explained.

"It might help if you distract him and unfold the saddle pad on his back instead of tossing it over him." Jemma suggested. Jemma's cheeks turned pink when Skye stared at her. "What?"

"Thanks. That's actually a really good idea." Skye said. The fact that they were actually having this conversation amazed the both of them. Looking at her the first day, Skye would have never guessed Jemma would be able to genuinely help her out with horse training. Jemma was a good fit.

* * *

"Do you want to watch a movie?" Skye asked Jemma while they were finishing washing dishes from dinner.

"What?" Jemma asked in disbelief, obviously thinking about what watching a movie meant anywhere else.

"A movie? It's a bunch of moving pictures on a screen." Skye joked.

"Funny." Jemma rolled her eyes, handing Skye the last plate to dry and placing the wet clothe on the edge of the sink.

"You get snacks, I'll set up a movie in the living room." Skye told Jemma, putting the dry plate in the cabinet.

"We just ate dinner." Jemma said in disbelief. Jemma had yet to see a moment that Skye wasn't hungry.

"Your point?" Skye asked from the living room. Jemma gave up and threw a bag of microwavable popcorn into the device to pop.

"What are we watching?" Jemma walked into the living room holding a steaming bag of popcorn by the corner and two sodas in the other hand. Phil would have joined them, but he said he had a few errands to run. They both knew that meant he was spending the rest of the evening with Melinda May and both girls encouraged him to go, of course they needed more groceries.

"Cowgirls 'n Angels." Skye said. She was squatting in front of the old TV set and DVD player. Fitz would have laughed at the inferior technology. The TV was the kind that looked like a big box with a rounded screen. Skye stuck the DVD into the player as Jemma plopped down on the couch.

She didn't know the movie, but could get the gist of it from the title.

"You're so predictable." Jemma teased her, tossing a kernel of popcorn into her own mouth. Maybe she had a little room left in her stomach.

"I'm nothing if not consistent. And besides, it's my favorite movie." Skye joked.

The couch was one with three cushions on it, and Jemma expected Skye to sit on another one, so she was surprised when Skye sat down so close to her that their arms brushed when one of them inhaled.

Jemma was stiff for a minute, but she relaxed when the movie started playing and Skye leaned up against her and the movie started. Before the video started, however, Skye paused it.

"Jemma?" Skye said to get her attention.

"Yes?"

"How long are you staying?" Skye asked curiously. Ah. The inevitable question of when she would have to pack up and leave this wonderful place.

"I'm leaving in the morning on August seventeenth." Jemma told her. She could hear the audile sigh of relief from Skye and it made her giddy that Skye dreaded her departure in a month.

"You'll be here for the festival, then." Skye said excitedly.

"Festival?" Jemma had no idea what Skye was talking about, but it caught her interest.

"Yeah. There's a town festival at the end of summer every year on August sixteenth. Everyone goes, you have to come!" Skye told her, practically bouncing on the couch. She was so close to asking Jemma out, Jemma figured a little baby push in the right direction couldn't hurt, could it?

"With you?" She asked a perfectly innocent question.

"Of course! Phil and I go every year, it will be so cool to have you come along too!" Skye gushed. Jemma deflated. Skye was absolutely clueless. She was going to have to consult Fitz.

"I'd love to." Jemma smiled. Skye finally pointed the remote at the receiver and pressed play.

Skye hummed along to the opening credit song and Jemma could feel the vibrations.

The movie started off when some ratty little girl stole a piece of gum out of a woman's purse underneath some bleachers at a rodeo and then outwitted the security guard to escape.

Jemma handed the popcorn to Skye and pulled her legs up underneath her to get more comfortable on the couch. Skye hardly moved as Jemma shifted against her.

When Jemma was done with her soda, she wiggled the silver tab until it popped off. She pulled Skye's hand over and pressed it into her palm. Skye smiled up at her and closed her fingers around the small object. They continued to watch the movie without exchanging words. They didn't need to use any for Skye to appreciate the friendly gesture and the fact that Jemma had noticed the little details about the loft.

Jemma couldn't stop glancing at Skye's soft face beside her in the dark, only illuminated by the light from the screen. The further they got into the movie, the more Skye cuddled up against Jemma's side.

Halfway through the movie Jemma was comparing Skye to the main character. Maybe Skye had an affinity for the movie because of its relatability. It was about a little girl who had a rough family life that joined a group of female rodeo riders and learned to ride so that she could find her father and find herself. The kid was loveable and extremely smart-alecky, always getting herself into trouble.

Jemma was so wrapped up in the movie that she didn't even notice Skye's slow, even breathing until she glanced to her left and saw that Skye was fast asleep with her head on Jemma's shoulder and one hand still in the popcorn bag. Jemma chuckled a little bit and let Skye sleep.

It was about time. Jemma was wondering how Skye hadn't collapsed sooner because of the tiny amount of sleep she'd gotten recently because of the whole cattle thieves fiasco.

Jemma watched the movie through to the end. Skye was right, it was an excellent movie.

Jemma wiggled her arm free and wrapped it around Skye. There was nothing in the world more comfortable than this moment and Jemma wished it would never end.

A line that was repeated throughout movie suddenly popped into Jemma's head as she looked at Skye's peaceful, sleeping face.

_"The only difference between cowgirls and angels is that angels can't ride as good."_ Jemma could confirm that fact. She pulled the popcorn bag away from Skye as she slept. Unfortunately the nearest blanket was far enough away that Jemma couldn't go grab it. Skye was so wrapped up in Jemma that if she stood up it surely would have woken her.

As if on cue, Phil quietly entered the house through the front door and found them on the couch. Jemma made the universal sign for _hush_ and Phil was clearly amused at the way Skye was tucked up against Jemma. Phil grabbed the blanket and offered it as a silent peace treaty with Jemma.

Jemma nodded and Phil draped it over the both of them before heading to his own bedroom.

"Goodnight, Skye." Jemma whispered. She kissed Skye on the top of the head and leaned back into her, resting her head on top of Skye's and closing her eyes.


	8. Chapter 8

_Dear Simmons,_

_I only have one piece of advice for you. ASK HER TO THE FESTIVAL! She already showed you she's excited about going, so you don't even have to worry about planning a date! If you really want to wait to see if she asks you, I say give her a week, tops. After that it's up to you whether or not you get to go out with this girl._

That was the advice that had arrived from Fitz four days later. A week. Skye had three days to ask her out before Jemma was going to try and pluck up the courage.

Jemma kept thinking about how she was going to ask Skye out the whole day while she helped Skye work with the horses. They had been working vigorously on Ward's boss's horse and Jemma was riding him bareback to get him used to the weight of a rider before adding the saddle.

She was so distracted she didn't notice the horse's antsy behavior and ended up falling off. Skye had freaked out, but Jemma was fine.

Jemma would have said in her letter to Fitz that that was the worst thing that happened that day, but it would be a lie.

Nothing about that day was even worth remembering compared to the events of that night.

After dinner and a few board games, Phil, Jemma, and Skye had parted their ways to go to bed.

Jemma slept peacefully for five hours before she woke to light flooding into her bedroom. She pushed back her covers groggily and looked at the clock. It shouldn't have been bright outside, it was only three in the morning.

But then she heard the screaming. Multitudes of horses screaming in terror. It was a sound that would occasionally haunt Jemma in her sleep for years to come.

"Jemma, get up! There's a fire!" Phil burst into her room, scaring the living daylights out of Jemma. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and finally looked out her window. The barn was ablaze, completely engulfed in flames.

"Skye?" Jemma's voice quivered.

"I haven't seen her." Phil said. Jemma threw on her boots and ran outside in her pajamas.

"SKYE!" Jemma screamed once she was out of the house. Tears were streaming down her face and Phil had to wrap his arms around her tightly to prevent her from pulling away from him and running into the burning barn.

"Let me go!" Jemma cried. Phil didn't know what to say. It was too dangerous to run inside. The whole barn was buried in the orange tendrils of heat and light. Smoke was billowing out of the loft doors and Jemma's sobs were drowned out by the deafening sound of wood crackling.

Jemma could hear a distinct cry of distress that she recognized as Calypso. A moment later he came charging out of the barn.

"Skye's releasing the horses!" Phil exclaimed. Skye was alive. At least for now. Jemma froze and stared in hope as horses escaped the barn one at a time, some of them with burns.

Amidst the commotion Ward's truck pulled onto the property and he ran up to Phil and Jemma, obviously scanning the surrounding area for Skye. He could probably see the cloud of smoke and the light from his property.

"Please, Ward, get Skye." Jemma begged him. Ward looked back and forth between the barn and Jemma, but all three of them were distracted when Sunshine ran out of the barn, screaming and kicking due to her mane being on fire.

"Sunshine!" Jemma yelled. Phil finally released Jemma and she grabbed the nearest rug, ran up to Sunshine, and smothered the flames with Ward's help. She didn't look too badly burned, but her mane was a little worse for wear.

"That's all of the horses!" Phil called after counting them all. Phil and Jemma hugged each other tightly while the three waiting in agony to see if Skye was going to get herself out. Jemma squinted and tried to see inside, but a support beam collapsed, sending sparks into the air and causing Jemma to scream .

"Keep her safe." Phil told Ward, shoving Jemma into his arms. Jemma started sobbing even harder when Phil ran into the burning building. Sirens could be heard in the distance, but there wasn't enough time to wait for the firemen to get this far into the rural area.

Jemma couldn't even see anything up in the loft, the double doors served as a chimney for the barn-turned-fireplace.

Ward had to restrain Jemma as they both waited in agony for someone to emerge.

Jemma had counted the seconds. At twenty-seven another beam collapsed, leaving only a small exit. At thirty two, a massive cloud of smoke rushed out of the loft all at once, suggesting something had collapsed inside.

"Skye." Jemma cried once more. Ward was holding her tight against his chest to make sure she didn't take off, although he was considering running in himself.

At fifty-three, two figures stumbled out of the front door of the barn.

"You're alive!" Jemma yelled. Phil appeared to be ok, but Skye's arm was draped over Phil's shoulders and Phil was supporting most of her weight at her waist. Skye's legs barely took wobbly steps. Her skin was blackened from the ash and she was coughing terribly.

"Skye!" Jemma couldn't say anything but her name at the moment. As soon as Phil and Skye were a safe distance from the fire, Jemma rushed to them and took Skye from Phil's arms so he could let out a fit of coughs.

Skye's hands clutched the material of Jemma's shirt in balled up fists as Jemma hugged her close and gently lowered Skye to the ground because she couldn't hold up her weight.

"Shhh." Jemma tried to stop Skye's tears, which were making trails down her dirty face. Jemma held onto Skye in her lap and comforted her like she would a crying child. Skye was wheezing and Jemma knew it was because of the smoke.

"We need to get her inside." Jemma said.

"Ward, help Jemma. I need to try and get all the horses into the round pen or the pasture." Phil told him. Ward nodded and scooped Skye up away from Jemma. Jemma knew she was the only one with any medical knowledge Skye was going to have for a while. She thought the nearest hospital that could dispatch an ambulance was at least half an hour away.

Once Ward had Skye inside Jemma instructed him to bring her into her own bedroom and lay her down on the bed. Skye was still coughing and sobbing but was clear-minded enough to recognize Jemma and grab her hand as soon as it was within reach.

"I like what you did with the place." Skye smiled. For some reason Skye had never actually been in Jemma's room before. It just never happened. Skye was smiling until she saw the picture frame on the nightstand beside her. It was her and some curly-haired boy going to some dance together. She had a boyfriend. Skye looked back up at Jemma and Jemma noticed her looking at the picture.

"I'm going to go help Coulson. You got her?" Ward asked. Jemma nodded and Ward left to go make sure the horses were alright.

"That's my best friend, Fitz." Jemma said, making Skye take the picture frame in her shaking hand. She was doing what she could to distract Skye in case she was in any pain. She also stood up and closed the curtains. She didn't want Skye to see her home burning to the ground.

"Your best-" Skye was interrupted by her own cough. "Friend?" Jemma nodded.

"Jemma." Skye said. Jemma squeezed Skye's hand comfortingly.

"You're my best friend." She said, closing her eyes. Jemma's heart melted right there. Tears fell over her eyelashes and she smoothed Skye's hair back away from her forehead. Miraculously, Skye didn't appear burned anywhere and her breathing seemed to be evening out. Jemma was so relieved she appeared to be unharmed for the most part.

"That fire wasn't an accident." Skye told her, her eyes still closed. Jemma's own breath hitched in her throat. Was Skye suggesting that someone burned down the barn intentionally? A realization hit Jemma like a freight train. The thief that escaped.

"I'm so sorry, Skye." Jemma started sobbing. This was her fault. It was her stupid decisions that let that thief escape in the first place.

"He might have escaped anyway. There's no way to- know." Skye told Jemma, reassuring her like she could read Jemma's mind. And then Skye was unconscious.

When the paramedics arrived, they informed Jemma and Phil that Skye probably wouldn't need to visit the hospital, but they left an oxygen mask for her to wear until she woke up just in case. Jemma informed the police what Skye had said and they were hunting down the thief. Ward eventually returned to his own home. Phil and Jemma sat on either side of the bed in Jemma's room and watched over her as she slept with the mask on.

"She's going to be so sad when she wakes up." Jemma sighed.

"That loft was her home." Phil added.

"What's going to happen after this? Is the ranch going to pull through?"

"I don't know. But I have faith that we can make it through this. I know Skye can make it through this. Skye's a strong girl. The strongest I've ever met." Phil told Jemma.

"Yeah. She is." Jemma said. She continued to wipe Skye's skin clean of ash with the wet cloth she was holding.


	9. Chapter 9

Phil had eventually gone to bed the night before, but Jemma fell asleep in the chair beside Skye. They slept until at least noon. She only woke when she felt the absence of Skye's hand in her own. She sat up straight and stretched her back before making eye contact with Skye, who was sitting on the bed, already having removed her oxygen mask.

"How are you?" Jemma asked to break the silence after they just sat there and stared at each other for a few minutes.

"Physically?" She asked.

"Or emotionally." Jemma answered.

"Well, my house just burned down. But I think I'll survive." Skye said. Jemma could see in her eyes that she was trying to stay strong, but clearly wanted to start crying.

"You don't have to do that with me." Jemma told her.

"Do what" Skye asked defensively.

"Hide your feelings. I'll always be here if you want to talk." Jemma told her. They were interrupted by a loud banging noise outside. Jemma stood up and moved the curtain aside to peek outside.

"No way." She breathed.

"What is it?" Skye asked, leaping out of bed.

"Come on." Jemma instructed Skye, leading her by the hand for a change. Jemma led Skye right out the front door even though Skye told Jemma she wasn't ready to see the barn yet. Jemma told Skye that she actually might want to and continued to drag her outside.

Skye's jaw dropped when she saw what Jemma saw. Sure, most of the barn was blackened and turned to charcoal, but a portion of it had already been rebuilt. A large crowd of townspeople were working away building a new barn. Ward stood a few meters away from the porch and crossed his arms across his chest, smiling up at Skye.

"You did this?" Skye asked him in disbelief as everyone stopped what they were doing and started clapping when they saw Skye alive and well. She had actually saved many horses that belonged to people in the crowd, who started the applause for her courageous act.

Skye smiled and ran to hug Ward.

_THANK YOU,_ Jemma mouthed to Ward. He winked back at her over Skye's shoulder.

* * *

"Skye, that is so unsanitary." Jemma scolded her friend, who just ate some raw cookie dough out of a bowl. They, mostly Jemma, were making cookies for everyone working outside and Skye wasn't making it easy.

"If you put that finger back in there I'm going to have to make another batch and I'm going to make you eat that whole thing." Jemma told her.

"Maybe that was my plan all along." Skye answered evilly, flicking flour at Jemma. Jemma gasped and stopped stirring the bowl that was in her arms. Jemma put it down on the table with a clank and Skye thought she was actually mad for a minute until Jemma threw a handful of flour at Skye.

"Just know it takes two to play this game." Skye smirked and reached into the flour bag.

Within minutes they were out of flour. Jemma and Skye both looked like ghosts and they were sitting on the floor leaning back against the cabinets, laughing so hard their eyes watered and they had to catch their breath.

"I have to admit, this kitchen would look nice if Phil decided to paint it white." Jemma commented, sending Skye spiraling into another fit of laughter. Skye sneezed and flour poofed out of who knows where, making Jemma laugh again.

* * *

Things were starting to look better at the ranch. Although Skye's clients had to take their horses home until they could provide stalls again, they were saving grocery money because everyone kept bringing them food.

Jemma liked this town. When something bad happened to one family, everyone helped. Everyone knew everyone. Jemma hadn't left Skye's side during the whole rebuilding process and introduced herself to everyone in the town. Throughout the day random people would come up and hug Skye and she would smile and hug them back.

It was absolutely amazing, what everyone working together could do. The barn was rebuilt within two weeks with everyone's help, and Skye moved back into the loft. Many of the elderly citizens brought boxes of their grown children's clothes and other possessions and Skye thanked them gratefully.

Jemma and Skye had walked up into the dark loft for the first time together when the barn was complete. Jemma held Skye's hand and they walked over to the double doors, unlocking them and swinging them open for the first time. All the people who had participated in the building of the barn cheered below and Skye was crying happy tears.

They threw a little party that afternoon and all of their new friends brought their kids, including Ward.

"Skye!" Jemma and Skye turned around when they heard a little voice call her name.

"Hey kiddo!" Skye kneeled down and retrieved the child that jumped into her arms before standing up and balancing the little dark haired child on her hip. The two nuzzled their noses together and Skye kissed his cheek.

"How are you doing?" Ward's wife, Jill, asked Skye.

"I'm doing great. I am so thankful for everyone's help." Skye said. Jill looked back and forth between Jemma and Skye and then gave Ward a questioning look, but he just smiled and shrugged his shoulders.

To Jemma it appeared that everyone was wondering if they were together, and Jemma was slightly frustrated that Skye didn't even seem to notice.

Jemma had to admit, Skye looked excellent holding the little kid and unconsciously Jemma pictured her and Skye having a kid that age. She shook her head to bring herself back to the real world and Skye gave her a funny look.

"Hey buddy, want to go get some of the cookies and lemonade Skye and Jemma made?" Ward asked his son as Skye lowered him to the ground. He nodded furiously and Jemma laughed with Skye and the boy's parents as he ran to the folding table holding the cookies and lemonade, along with the food people brought. Jemma couldn't believe she ever thought Ward was with Skye.

"Skye, can I show you something?" Jemma asked. Skye nodded and followed Jemma around to the back of the house, where it was quiet. Jemma pulled out a box wrapped in newspaper she had hidden there. For the last two weeks Jemma had discretely been collecting bottles of beverages the volunteers had been drinking while working and a few days ago Phil brought her to the hardware store to get some lights and glue while Skye was out herding the cattle.

"What's this?" Skye asked when Jemma handed her the box.

"Open it." Jemma nodded at the box, fidgeting with the hem of her shirt in her fingers. She was so nervous. Was Skye going to like it, or would it just make her sad?

Skye tore of the paper gently and gasped when she saw the contents of the box.

"Jemma..." Skye squeaked. She pulled the strand of bottle lights out of the box and admired them. She set them down in the box gently and threw herself at Jemma without warning, knocking Jemma back a few steps as she wrapped her arms around Jemma's neck.

"I love them. Thank you." Skye stated, never letting go of Jemma.

"I thought you might." Jemma said.

Skye pulled away and held her at arm's length. _So close... Just ask her right now!_ The annoying voice in Jemma's head sounded like Fitz.

"Skye?" Jemma piped up.

"Yeah?" Skye questioned. Jemma was going to ask her, she really was, but Skye's big brown eyes staring into hers made her terribly nervous. She couldn't bare the idea of Skye rejecting her and in her mind it was better to not even ask, to enjoy what she had.

"Nothing." Jemma muttered. Because Jemma glanced down at her feet, she had missed the disappointed look that was on Skye's face for just a millisecond before she masked it.

"I'm going to go put these up." Skye said, picking up the box of lights.

"Ok." Jemma answered. Skye lingered for a moment, waiting to see if Jemma changed her mind about what she was going to say, before walking back out front. Jemma watched her leave. Just because of the way Skye walked away from her, which was _much_ different than the way Skye always walked _to_ her, Jemma knew that Skye felt the same way about her. At least a little bit. But Jemma wouldn't admit it to herself.

It wasn't because she was self conscious, or in denial that someone like Skye could like her, it was because Jemma was scared. Jemma was scared of leaving in eight days. She didn't want to kiss-and-run, so to speak. She didn't want to hurt Skye or herself by starting a relationship and then having to throw it away the day after because she lived in a different country.


	10. Chapter 10

Everything seemed to be as it was after the barn was rebuilt. Skye nor Jemma mentioned the fact that she was going back to England in four days. Jemma walked into the kitchen for breakfast and this time she wasn't surprised to find Skye there, eating what was probably her third bowl of cereal. Phil was making scrambled eggs, but Skye was too hungry and impatient to wait.

"Want to go riding?" Skye perked up to ask when Jemma walked into the room. Many of the horses that belonged to Skye's clients were still at their own homes, recovering from their burns. None of them had been fatally injured, but their owners weren't ready to part with them yet. That meant Skye had time.

Skye wasn't used to having time and it was driving her stir crazy to have fifteen less horses to take care of than usual. After feeding the horses she had nothing to do but hang out and eat a second breakfast with Phil until Jemma finally woke up.

"Sure." Jemma answered, gathering fruits and yogurt to put in the blender and make a shake.

"How do you eat- sorry, drink- that crap?" Skye asked.

"You should eat more like her, Skye. It's healthier and costs less money." Phil informed her.

"A fruit shake is a very nutritional breakfast, Skye. What is that, sixty grams of sugar per serving?" Jemma asked, pointing at the cereal box on the table.

"No, it's..." Skye grabbed the box, prepared to defend her choice of breakfast cereal. "Fifty-nine." Skye told her, sticking her tongue out.

"Ok, I stand corrected." Jemma said sarcastically.

"Here kid." Phil put a plate of scrambled eggs and watched in amusement as Skye downed them without a problem.

"I don't understand it." Jemma marveled at Skye and leaned against the kitchen counter, taking a sip of her drink. "I don't know where it all goes." Phil almost choked on his eggs and Skye looked like she was a mixture of offended and proud at the same time.

"I'm going to go tack up Calypso and Sunshine, I'll see you in a few." Skye playfully pushed Jemma out from in front of the sink with one finger and placed her dishes at the bottom.

"Alright." Jemma told her, sitting down to finish her breakfast with her uncle.

"Did you enjoy your summer?" He asked Jemma. Jemma's mood instantly dropped down to zero on the happy scale.

"I don't want to go back." Jemma confided in Phil. Her eyebrows furrowed and Phil noticed the way Jemma's finger ran along the rim of her cup, even though she would usually never touch a glass in the same area she touched her mouth to.

"Is it because of Skye?" Phil asked her. "It's ok to tell me." He assured her, putting down his fork so Jemma could speak.

"I'm going to miss her. I'm going to miss you, and Sunshine, and everything about this place." Jemma sighed.

"Are you two going to the festival together?" He asked her.

"I really want to, but she hasn't asked." She said. Jemma was surprised with her own willingness to open up. She'd never actually voiced her feelings for Skye, the only person she told was Fitz, and she did it in the written language.

"What are you waiting for? Why don't you ask her?" Phil questioned his niece.

"You wouldn't mind?" Jemma was surprised. Phil laughed until he realized that she was serious.

"Of course I wouldn't mind, Jemma, why would I mind?"

"Well, she's your employee, so-"

"Jemma, you've been living here for two months. You should know that Skye is nothing like an employee." Phil told her. "I see her more like family."

"Are you suggesting I date my cousin?" Jemma made a face at him, but they both knew she was joking and chuckled a bit.

"I'm glad now that I didn't try to adopt Skye like I had planned. That would have turned into a mess." Phil sighed. Jemma was shocked. Her uncle wanted to adopt Skye? Jemma felt sorry for Skye, she probably didn't know this. But she was also thrilled that Skye had gotten emancipated instead, or it would have been really weird to try to date her. Her mother and father probably wouldn't approve of incest, even if they were adoptive family.

"Ask her to the festival, Jemma. And do it soon. If I know Skye, she'll start putting up walls soon." Phil warned her.

"Why?" Jemma asked.

"Because you're leaving. If you don't push a relationship, even a friendship, Skye is going to start cutting ties to you. She's used to people leaving and that's just what she does. If you don't make sure she knows you're not abandoning her, she's going to shut you out." He explained. Jemma swallowed a lump in her throat. She didn't want Skye to think she'd abandoned her when she went back to England.

"Uncle Phil?"

"What is it?"

"You like having me here, right?"

* * *

"You really think I'm ready?" Jemma asked in disbelief. She and Skye were sitting on horseback in the middle of a field.

"I'm sure of it. You've dedicated a whole summer to learning how to ride and I'd say you're ready for anything. Except stuff like barrel racing and bronc riding." Skye told her.

"Remember how it felt the first time we rode together? Remember that." Skye brought up memories of that first week and Jemma realized how much she truly was going to miss Skye. "Don't try to ride your horse, let your horse give you a ride." Skye advised her. "Now follow my lead." She smiled and clicked to Calypso, who was excited to get going and whinnied before picking up his hooves and loping.

Jemma took a deep breath and signaled to Sunshine, who seemed to know she was ready. The air against her face was going to make her lips chapped later, but Jemma smiled and squealed with delight when she caught up to Skye. Skye turned to look at her and smirked before Calypso sped up. The two were soon neck and neck in a race across the field.

Jemma could feel the pulsing rhythm of Sunshine's hooves beneath her and she could feel the rocking motion from the way the horse's body moved.

When they reached the end, they both slowed to a trot and laughed with delight. Jemma leaned out of the saddle to reach over and give Skye the high five she was requesting.

"Congratulations. You're a cowgirl now, you've aced Skye's AP riding class." Skye joked. Jemma couldn't do anything but smile. She was out of breath from the exhilaration, but she didn't want to admit it to Skye, who looked like she could go on for hours.

"Look. The first stars are coming out." Jemma pointed upwards.

"South Hill?" Skye asked. Jemma nodded and began trotting to the hill they usually stargazed on, but Skye just waggled her finger and took off.

"You're in the big leagues now, cowgirl!" Skye called back at her. Jemma nudged Sunshine with her legs and charged after Skye.

"Which one of us is the preacher's daughter now?" Jemma asked when she passed by Skye.

"Oh, it's still you." Skye yelled and urged Calypso into a full gallop. Jemma watched the stallion from behind as he ran at an unnaturally pace. That wasn't fair.

"Do you really have to go back?" Skye asked. Maybe Jemma was paranoid, but she started noticed what Phil had said to her while they were laying in the grass and looking up at the sky. Usually Skye wasn't embarrassed to cuddle right up to Jemma and use her arm as a pillow, but she kept her distance and Jemma shivered in the chilly night air.

"I have school." Jemma told her.

"Online courses?" Skye suggested.

"On what?"

"Good point." Skye muttered. "At least we still have the festival." Skye said sadly.

"What's wrong?" Jemma asked, propping herself up at Skye and staring at that view instead of the constellations above her.

"Nothing." Skye said, turning to face Jemma.

"You're wearing your pouty face." Jemma stated.

"What pouty face?"

"That one! Right there!" Jemma pointed at Skye's face and Skye crossed her eyes goofily to stare at the finger hovering dangerously close to her nose.

"Nope. Don't know what you're talking about." Skye told her. Jemma straddled Skye's stomach, not even embarrassed like she would have been two months ago, to prove her point.

"The face where you furrow your eyebrows-" Jemma put two fingers on Skye's eyebrows and pushed them together.

"And you make this turtle face with your mouth..." Jemma used two fingers of one hand and put each on the corners of Skye's mouth, pulling them downwards so Skye's mouth looked like an upside-down U. Skye smiled and playfully slapped away Jemma's hand. Skye's hands came to rest on Jemma's thighs and Jemma's ended up on Skye's shoulders.

Jemma stared down into Skye's eyes and she could see the stars in them, reflecting the light that came from above them.

"Seriously, what is it?" Jemma rolled off of Skye and sat next to her. Skye started playing with a button on her shirt.

"Did you have someone special who didn't come by and invite you to the festival?" Jemma asked. She had to know.

"They didn't ask." Skye whispered. Jemma's heart sunk, but she was glad Skye had someone else for when she left.

"Well he's an idiot." Jemma told Skye, putting her hand on Skye's shoulder.

"You're an idiot, Jemma." Skye told her, grabbing her hand and holding it tightly. Jemma looked confused for a minute before Skye rolled her eyes.

"For god's sake, come to the god damn festival with me!" Skye burst out laughing. Jemma's eyes widened and she didn't know what to feel. Was Skye seriously waiting to see if Jemma liked her the whole time? Just like her?

Jemma covered her face with her free hand, her cheeks turning redder by the second.

"I had to make sure you were... playing for the same team." Jemma laughed. Skye burst out laughing and grabbed Jemma's other hand to remove it from her face.

"So, will you come with me? As my date?" Skye questioned her. Jemma withheld her answer for a few seconds, enjoying the anxious look on Skye's face.

"You promise to dress up?" Jemma asked. She really, _really_ wanted to see Skye in a dress. She already had one of hers picked out for Skye in her head.

"Jemma, you little devil." Skye scolded her, but nodded in agreement.

"I'm going to make you look so pretty." This time it was Jemma's turn to smile mischievously.

"Are you saying I'm not pretty now?" Skye asked sarcastically.

"Oh, no, you're... very attractive." Jemma said, having to take a breath as her eyes wandered Skye's body. "But I'm going to show you off to everyone, so I've got to make sure that some of your assets are... in the spotlight." Jemma planned, laughing at the fresh horror on Skye's face. "Not like that, you dirty mind." Jemma scolded her.

"I'm flattered." Skye said flatly.

"You should be. I have very high standards." Jemma joked.

"Hey Jemma." Skye said, smirking. Uh-oh. What did Skye know that she didn't?

"What?" She asked, her eyes wide. Skye's bottom lip caught between her teeth, which meant either something very bad or very good for Jemma.

"It's eight-thirty." Skye said.

"What?!" Jemma exclaimed, jumping to her feet.

"It's time for dinner. You're _late_." Skye taunted her.

"You did this to me, you witch!" Jemma accused Skye and ran to untie Sunshine. Skye untied Calypso quickly to catch up, still laughing, but she knew there was no way she was beating Jemma back to the barn when she was running late for something.


	11. Chapter 11

"Just one more, Skye." Jemma begged. Jemma was sitting on Skye's bed in the loft and Skye was standing in the center of the room wearing a pink, knee length dress.

"No."

"Skye, I think this is the right one!" Jemma told her, shaking another dress on a hanger. She'd been making Skye try on dresses for almost an hour and Skye was getting fed up.

"You said that three dresses ago." Skye pouted and sat down on the bed next to her.

"Just one more. I promise." Jemma begged, grabbing Skye's hand.

"You said that last time." Skye pointed out.

"But you look so beautiful in all of them!" Jemma exclaimed.

Jemma hadn't really realized how many dresses she had brought for unknown reasons. To do a favor for Phil, Melinda May had also brought some over for them to try on. The festival was tonight, and Jemma still couldn't get Skye to pick out a dress.

Jemma had had hers picked out since the night Skye asked her out, but she kept it a secret from Skye so she wouldn't see her in it until the festival.

"Please?" Jemma whined, tugging on the material of the dress Skye was wearing.

"I swear Jemma, you're going to be the death of me." Skye gave in and Jemma pushed the last dress into her hands.

Jemma was so chaste. It amused her that Jemma would close her eyes whenever Skye pulled a dress off of herself over her head, leaving her in only her undergarments. Skye would change in front of anyone, it didn't really matter to her as long as she still had a bra on, so she found it pretty hilarious. Jemma wanted to look at Skye, she really, _really_ did, but she was afraid if she even saw Skye partially naked for half a second, she would gawk at her rudely and never be able to look away.

"Ok, Jemma you can open your eyes." Skye told her. The second Jemma saw Skye in this dress, she knew that this was the one. It was a subtle peach color and was covered in images of little flowers in varying shades of brown.

"That's the one. You look beautiful, Skye." Jemma sighed and stood up and moved towards Skye, putting her hands on Skye's waist and pulling them together at the hips. Their faces were mere inches from each other and Jemma wanted nothing more than to wrap her arms around Skye's neck and kiss her right there, but Skye looked a little nervous for some reason.

"I've never kissed anyone before." Skye confessed, her breath warm on Jemma's face. Jemma couldn't help it, she burst out laughing and had to take a step away.

"What?" Skye demanded, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"I _never_ would have guessed that." Jemma told her. She'd never kissed anyone either, but Skye always seemed so much more experienced at everything.

"Why not?" Skye asked angrily. Oops. Jemma mentally slapped herself.

"Because you're so amazingly beautiful, I figured someone would have kissed you by now." Jemma said.

"Nice save, Jems." Skye rolled her eyes and pulled her riding boots over her feet.

"You can put me in a dress but you're not taking my boots." Skye joked. The boots were one of the only items Skye saved from the fire, she had put them on when she woke up and was wearing them when she freed the horses.

"No, I wouldn't try. They actually match your dress really well." Jemma commented, looking Skye's body up and down. The boots just happened to be the same shade of brown as some of the flowers on her dress. The color went with her skin tone and hair color so well, it was like the dress was made specifically for her.

"If that means I can wear my boots than sure, they're soul mates." Skye smiled, but soon frowned at the look on Jemma's face.

"No." Skye held up her finger. No way was Jemma going to get her to do what Jemma wanted her to do.

* * *

That didn't work. They ended up in the bathroom, with Skye sitting on a stool pouting while Jemma attempted to put makeup on her.

"I'm not even using that much!" Jemma told her. She put her hand on the back of Skye's head to keep her from pulling away while she applied a little bit of eyeliner, just enough to make her eyes pop.

"If you don't stop moving you're going to get poked in the eye." Jemma warned. That made her still.

When Jemma finally picked a color for Skye and began putting lip gloss on her, both girls stopped for a moment when Jemma accidentally smeared some of it. Slowly, Jemma moved her thumb across the bottom of Skye's lip to fix it. Jemma saw the desire in Skye's eyes and it scared her. She was scared to make this official with a kiss.

"You're all ready." Jemma muttered and pulled away just as Skye started to lean in.

"What about you? Do I get to watch you model a million dresses?" Skye asked in anticipation.

"No, I already have one picked out." Jemma told her.

"That's not fair at all." Skye complained, as Jemma pushed a very unwilling Skye out of the bathroom so she could get herself ready. Skye waited a minute to make sure Jemma wasn't coming out before walking away from the bathroom door. She had a few things she still needed to do to get ready.

* * *

"Jemma, you look absolutely stunning." Skye gasped when Jemma finally exited the bathroom, wearing a navy blue dress covered in tiny pink dots. Jemma blushed and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Skye's right. You both look amazing." Phil smiled as he walked into the room. He didn't look much different than he usually did in his button up shirt.

Skye glanced down and smiled when she saw that Jemma was wearing her boots as well.

"I'm going to be riding with May, do you girls want to borrow Lola to get there?" Phil asked. Skye's jaw dropped to the floor and Jemma stared at him in disbelief.

"If you scratch her you die." Coulson warned, tossing Jemma the keys.

"I promise we won't." Skye said.

"You know, this almost feels like a school dance, but for summer." Jemma pointed out when Phil walked outside where May was waiting in her car.

"You're going to need a corsage, then." Skye smiled and ran off to another room in the house to retrieve something. When she returned, she held her hand out, waiting for Jemma to give her hers.

Skye revealed the object she had been holding behind her back. She tied a red bandana around Jemma's wrist gently and smiled. Jemma giggled and intertwined their fingers.

"You're such a hopeless romantic." Jemma told her.

"Well I'm following an example." Skye smiled, poking Jemma in the side with her elbow as she led her out the front door to Coulson's most prized possession.

* * *

"Oh my god, come on! We're going to miss it!" Skye tugged Jemma along by her hand. Some fast, catchy song was coming from the barn.

Skye had explained that the festival is like a hoedown that was always held in someone's barn, and it was Ward's turn to host, he was on the list that it rotated on because he had a big enough barn space.

Jemma almost fell because Skye was pulling her through the doors so fast. She was amazed as she entered. She'd never seen anything like it. Lights were strung everywhere they possibly could, making it look like the walls and ceiling were glittering. A huge group of people were all facing the direction in the middle of the barn, dancing in synchronization.

Jemma shook her head no when Skye tried to pull her in because she had no idea how to do the crazy dance, but she clapped and stomped along with the beat and laughed when she saw the crazy, hyper side of Skye. She jumped right in next to Ward and continued the dance when the verse started over.

"If it hadn't been for Cotton-eyed Joe, I'd been married a long time ago. Where did you come from, where did you go, where did you come from Cotton-eyed Joe?" Skye starting singing along with the whole group, kicking her feet, tapping her heels, moving side to side, and spinning in circles with the whole group. Jemma's smile was so wide watching Skye have such a good time.

Skye was actually a really good dancer, she really threw herself into it. Every part of her body moved when she danced and Jemma could feel the happiness radiated off of her. Jemma loved dancing and Fitz told her she was good at it, but she'd never tried this kind before.

About a minute in, Jemma memorized the pattern that the dance kept repeated and jumped in next to Skye. Skye made eye contact with her as the music ran through a lightning-quick fiddle solo and smiled widely. As the verse restarted Skye linked her arm in Jemma's and they continued the dance together.

When the song finally ended after what seemed like an eternity of the greatest form of joy imaginable, the townspeople cheered and Jemma was out of breath. It was a simple dance, but it used a lot of energy.

Skye beamed at Jemma proudly.

"You are really quite good at that." Jemma told Skye.

"I could say the same about you. I never knew you were a dancer." Skye told Jemma, handing her a water bottle that she grabbed from the refreshments table.

"I could say the same." Jemma said, copying Skye.

"This one sounds promising." Jemma looked upwards when she listened to the newest song as if she would see it up in the air like a cloud. It was a nice slow song focusing mainly on guitar.

"Can I have this dance, Jemma Simmons?" Skye bowed and offered her hand.

"Sure, you nutter." Jemma laughed, taking Skye's hand so she could stand erect again.

Skye led Jemma into the area meant for dancing and placed her hands on Jemma's waist. Jemma put her hands up on Skye's shoulders and they began to sway to the music. Skye sighed in contentment and Jemma brushed some of her hair away from her face with two fingers.

It was then, now that they were so close, that Jemma noticed the chain around Skye's neck. The end of it was long enough that it was tucked into the front of Skye's dress. Jemma hooked one finger under the chain and pulled it out, expecting to reveal a pendent that she could compliment Skye on. She could tell Skye how it went with her eyes or her dress.

Skye gave a little smile while gauging Jemma's reaction. There was no pendent on Skye's necklace, it was just a soda tab with a chain through one of the holes.

"No way." Jemma laughed and pinched the little object between two fingers. She remembered the night Skye and Jemma spent on the couch that lifetime ago. Jemma was amazed that the tiny little thing made it through the fire. The only way Skye could have kept it was if it had been on her. Jemma was touched that Skye had the little keepsake on her at all times.

Skye's bottom lip caught between her teeth. Jemma knew she was going to have to use a pickup line eventually, so why not now?

"When I first met you, the only way I could tell you weren't an angel is because you ride better." Jemma told her as she looked up into Skye's big, brown eyes that displayed her emotions so powerfully. She laughed and smiled, obviously understanding the Cowgirls n' Angels reference.

Jemma knew that if she wanted anything with Skye, now was her open opportunity. Jemma pressed her hand against the back of Skye's head and pulled her closer. Their foreheads pressed together and Skye's lips ghosted across hers, barely brushing against them.

Skye was tired of waiting. She'd waited all summer. Skye captured Jemma's lips in a soft, slow kiss that made her dizzy.

They were interrupted by many laughs and cheers. Skye and Jemma looked around them and realized that they had been so wrapped up in each other, they didn't even noticed that the song had ended long ago and people had been watching them.

"You go, girl!" Skye's friend, Trip, yelled at her. Jemma's cheeks turned a pink color and Skye couldn't stop chuckling.

Another fast, catchy country song started playing and relieved Skye and Jemma of the attention that was on them as everyone gathered to dance again.

"Come on, preacher's daughter. I'm going to corrupt you." Skye said slyly, pulling Jemma into the dance.

After another few dances, Jemma and Skye stood to the side to take a break and catch their breath.

"Be honest. Am I ever going to see you again?" Skye asked, changing the mood. Jemma frowned at her. Skye had every reason to believe that. It had taken Jemma sixteen years to come visit her uncle's ranch, so how was Skye not allowed to be scared Jemma wouldn't come back until she was thirty-two?

"I'm coming back next summer." Jemma finally told her. It had been killing her to withhold this information from Skye for so long. She had arranged it with Phil earlier and there was nothing her parents could say that would stop her from hopping on a plane to the united states the day she got out of school.

Skye made some excited noise that Jemma had no idea how to describe and threw herself into Jemma's arms.

"I guess I'm going to have to get by with just writing to you until then." Skye said.

"Jemma?" Skye really wanted Jemma to say it. "What are we going to call this?" Skye asked. She didn't know what they would be if they were separated for almost ten months.

"I was hoping you would be ok with me calling you my girlfriend when I brag about you back in England." Jemma answered. This was clearly the right answer to that question, as Skye pressed a quick kiss to her lips, one that left Jemma longing for more.

"I think I'm ok with that." Skye told her. "You'd brag about me?" Skye bit her bottom lip the way she always does when she's flirting, happy, or pretty much anything else. She just always bit her lip.

"Oh, definitely. All my friends back home will be so jealous of my sexy American girlfriend with her adorable accent and her beautiful eyes." Jemma said, clinging to the material of Skye's dress at her shoulder and pulling her closer. Skye didn't object and Jemma took it as permission to kiss her again. Jemma didn't think she'd ever get tired of it.

"Huh. To me you were always the one with the accent." Skye mumbled against Jemma's lips.

"Alright, folks, we've got one more song left." They heard someone shout over the whole room. A few notes rang out throughout the barn.

"Come on, Jemma Simmons, let's finish this summer with a bang." Skye told Jemma as they made their way to the middle of the barn.


	12. Chapter 12

"Goodbye, Uncle Phil." Jemma said solemnly, standing on her toes to hug him.

"Bye kiddo. You get good grades, ok?" He told her. Jemma stepped away, nodded, and wiped away a singular tear. She smiled, but she felt like she was dying on the inside.

"Goodbye Skye." Jemma took a step to the left to stand directly in front of her.

"Hey, don't cry. I'll be back." Jemma comforted Skye, taking both of her hands and holding them between them.

"I'll be waiting. Impatiently." Skye sniffled and laughed. Jemma squeezed her hands gently.

"It will be summer before you know it, you'll see." Jemma assured her.

"If you say so." Skye told her, letting go of one of her hands to cup Jemma's cheek. Jemma leaned in and they kissed for a moment. Neither of them wanted to stop, but Phil was there and the waiting taxi driver looked at them funny. He probably wasn't a fan of lesbians.

"Bye Jemma." Skye whispered.

"Goodbye Skye." Jemma repeated herself. No matter how many times she said it, she couldn't let go of Skye's hand.

"Bye." Jemma and Skye both uttered the same word at the same time and Jemma backed away from her. She gave Skye a sad smile before ducking into the open back door of the cab.

"You'll write?" Jemma asked.

"Absolutely." Skye answered and gave Jemma one of those smiles that meant she knew something Jemma didn't. Jemma knew she would find out eventually anyway. Skye closed the door behind Jemma. When the door slammed shut, Jemma felt something snap in her chest. She couldn't hear Skye anymore, only see her through the window. She rolled it down as far as it would go.

Skye leaned into the car and kissed Jemma one last time before finally stepping far enough away from the cab they called for it to start up. Jemma watched Skye out the window as the car's tires crunched on the gravel of the long driveway.

Jemma finally sat facing forwards and stopped craning her neck to see Skye when she went into the barn. Jemma wiped a tear from her eyelashes and reached into her bag in the seat beside her to get a book. While she fumbled around, her fingers made contact with the bandana Skye had tied on her wrist last night. Jemma smoothed it out against her thigh and toyed with a loose thread on the edge.

A clomping sound caught Jemma's attention and she stared out the open window beside her. About ten meters away from the side of the car, Skye was riding Calypso at the same speed. Her hair was flying behind her and she was smiling at Jemma. This was the way Jemma had first seen her when she laid eyes on the rider the first day she was here. Wild and free.

Jemma waved the whole way, until the cab finally reached the edge of the property and Skye reached a fence.

Calypso reared, standing on his hind legs and making himself as tall as possible. Skye threw one of her hands way up in the air and exaggeratedly waved at the car Jemma was in as it drove away. They had been underneath the shadow of a cloud and it had moved away at the very end, dousing Skye in sunlight. The sudden light made the scene even more awe inspiring for Jemma. It was the most beautiful sight she had ever seen.

In a few seconds it was over. Calypso was back on all fours and was getting too small to see properly. Jemma wiped away a few tears and eventually settled back into her seat, opening her favorite book. To her surprise, an envelope fluttered out and landed on her lap.

On the front Jemma's name was spelled out in curly letters. Jemma smiled and ran her thumb across it.

She pulled the folded up piece of paper out and began to read it. Skye's handwriting was sloppy because she never used it, but Jemma couldn't care less.

_Dear Jemma,_

_I'm not good with words. I never have been. I know you are, so try not to laugh too hard when you read this._

_It's been sixty-six days since I met you. We met at two-thirty on June thirteenth and it's probably three o'clock right now, if you found this as soon as you opened your favorite book, which is probably right after you've left. We've known each other for 1,560 and a half hours. We've known each other for 93,630 minutes and we've known each other for 5,617,800 seconds. That's a lot of seconds. Are you proud of me? I did math for you. _

_Unfortunately we've only been dating for less than a day, if you count our first kiss as the starting point. That was at ten o'clock last night. We've only been dating for seventeen hours, but I'm already crazy about you. I'm hoping I won't have to figure out how long we dated until at least 8,760 more hours have passed so we would have experienced another summer together, one that we can spend __**together**__ together, instead of spending the whole thing trying to test each other, hoping for positive results._

_This is the first of many letters to come. We're going to write to each other until next summer. Every time I write you a letter I'm going to picture your face and I'm going to smile. I'm going to miss you, preacher's daughter. _

_P.S. You left one of your books at my house. I know you've already figured out that I kept it on purpose because I wrote this letter before you got in that car and 'forgot' your book. Now you have one more reason to come back to me next summer, because I'm only going to give you that book in person. I might even read it. Maybe. But probably not._

_Love, _

_Skye_

* * *

**Unfortunately that was the end of this story. Even though it wasn't popular, it was still fun to write. Thanks to everyone who read it. I have a friend who thinks I should write a sequel where Skye visits Jemma and her family/friends in England, what would you guys think about that?**

**I'm also always taking Skimmons prompts if any of you have anything you'd like to see.**


	13. The Second Summer

**A bunch of you wanted a sequel, and I'm going to be bored out of my mind until March, so I'm perfectly happy writing one. Or two. I think I'm going to keep them in this story on and separate them into big sections. The Girl I Met Last Summer, The Second Summer, and the (so far) untitled part where Skye visits Jemma in England. You guys also deserve a warning, I probably can't update as rapidly as I did with the first part because I'm back in school now, but I'll do my best.**

**THE SECOND SUMMER**

_Dear Skye,_

_$187.05. That's how much I've spent in American Currency sending letters to you since last summer. (I could have chosen the cheaper option, but it would take them 5-6 weeks to deliver it to you and that just wouldn't do). Our relationship is quite expensive, isn't it? _

_I told you the time would fly by, didn't I? It's almost summer. My last day of school is in a few days, so this will be the last letter I send before I get there. If I send another one I'll probably beat it to you. _

_I can't wait to see you. I've been anticipating it for months. Every time I try to concentrate on anything I hear your laugh or see your smile or remember what it feels like to kiss you. I blame you for this. Why do you have to be so memorable and beautiful in every way? Because of you I only got a 97% on one of my finals this year, can you believe it? _

_Fitz is mad at you for stealing me away for the summer again, but don't worry, I explained that if anything it's unfair for you because he gets me for 83.3% of the year, and that shut him up. He convinced the school to keep him busy again this summer, so he should be fine._

_Please pretend that I said something sweet and more romantic. Honestly, I'm burned out after writing all these letters. I'm sure you feel the same way, we always do. It will be so much better when we can talk in person again. I can't wait to go star gazing. I can only see a small portion of the stars in the urban area I live in._

_I'm not going to think of anything but you until I can hold you in my arms again. I also can't wait to go riding again. I may not be able to actually see you, but we're riding together every night in my dreams and I wake up in the morning still feeling the rocking motion of Sunshine's smooth gate._

_I'll see you soon, cowgirl._

_P.S. I want my book back._

_Love,_

_Jemma_


	14. 2- Chapter 2

Jemma was practically bouncing in the back seat of the cab. As they continued to drive, slowly the distance between buildings gradually grew until there were only open fields and an occasional house or barn.

Jemma fidgeted with her bandana and put on the hat Skye gave her last summer. Oh, Skye, can't you just teleport the cab to yourself? Please?

When the sign with the words 'Wildwood Ranch' printed in an arch over the road was visible, Jemma unbuckled and zipped up her bag. Skye was sitting on the fence of the property line, looking quite anxious.

"Right here is great, thank you." Jemma alerted the driver. She paid him and practically toppled out of the car.

Skye's face lit up when she saw Jemma and she slid off the fence, opening her arms. Jemma tackled her and they both laughed with glee and squeezed the life out of each other. Jemma took the initiative and captured both Skye's lips and heart in a soft kiss. She could feel Skye's smile against her lips and felt Skye's hand touch her waist.

They finally had to stop because they needed air, but they weren't ready to let go of each other yet. They kept their foreheads pressed against each other for a few silent seconds before Skye pulled her into a second bone crushing hug.

"You have bangs." Jemma said in shock when they separated. Skye hadn't told her she'd gotten her hair cut. "I love it." She smiled.

"And you look very nice in that flannel. Did you go shopping just for me?" Skye teased.

"No, I was just tired of getting my nice blouses covered in dirt." Jemma joked.

"I'm so flattered." Skye said sarcastically.

"You know, I missed this banter. It didn't really work when we were getting each other's letters a week after we sent them." Jemma told Skye.

"I feel like you never left. Like this is just... normal." Skye commented.

"For you maybe, you've been here the whole time. I got spoiled by the lack of the smell of horse manure. It's different for me." Jemma told her. Skye chuckled and pecked Jemma on the cheek.

"But really, it's great to have you back." Skye told her.

"It's great to be back." Jemma answered happily. Skye picked up Jemma's bag for her and began the walk back to the house that reminded Jemma so much of last year.

"Do you have any competitions while I'm here? I'm dying to see you in action." Jemma asked curiously. In her letters Skye had very enthusiastically told her about how she began competing in barrel racing competitions at nearby rodeos.

Skye had spent an entire letter just explaining to Jemma what barrel racing was. That it was when a rider and horse move top speed though a three barrel course in a clover leaf pattern, spinning around each one unbelievably quickly. Skye had told Jemma it was the most thrilling thing she'd ever experienced, besides kissing her, of course. Skye said it was eighteen seconds of pure terror and excitement at the same time.

Jemma had promptly looked up videos of the sport and was horrified the first time she watched a horse turn so sharply around the barrels that it almost feel right over. It was a dangerous sport, but Skye assured Jemma that she was going to be fine.

"Two weeks from now there's a rodeo in the next town over." Skye beamed, clearly excited for the event. "You can be my groupie." Skye teased, quirking her eyebrows and grinning. They were finally beginning to near the barn and the house again.

Jemma linked her arm through Skye's and rested her head on Skye's shoulder, sighing and closing her eyes. She could have walked with Skye forever, but they were interrupted.

"Jemma!" Jemma had to remove herself from Skye to greet her uncle, who welcomed her with open arms.

"Hey Jemma." Jemma was surprised to see Melinda May standing next to Phil. She extended her hand to shake, and Jemma accepted it. It was more than she'd gotten last summer, after all. She didn't mind if May wasn't a physical contact kind of person.

Jemma noticed an engagement ring on May's left hand; that was new. Out of curiosity she glanced at Phil's left hand and her jaw dropped. Skye laughed and Melinda May actually smiled when she knew Jemma had made the connection.

"No way." Jemma laughed.

"We're getting married at the end of the summer." Phil told Jemma with a smile.

"Congratulations!" Jemma exclaimed, quickly hugging Phil a second time. After a few minutes of everyone just chatting for a little bit, May recognized the look on both of the younger girls' faces and nudged Phil with her elbow.

"You two go have fun. We'll be here to talk with at dinner." Phil smiled, knowing what May meant to tell her and not wanting to torture them any longer.

Jemma and Skye rushed out to the barn and went out bareback for a quick ride.

When they reached the hill that Jemma had rode to the night the cattle thieves tried to steal the herd, she realized that she was with Skye now, she didn't have to send her subtle hints any more.

Jemma leaned across the small distance between their horses and put her free hand on the back of Skye's neck, pulling her closer. Her lips brushed against Skye's lightly before she tilted her head and kissed her.

"This isn't very safe." Skye muttered against Jemma's lips, but she didn't do anything to stop it. The horses slowly started to drift away from each other and they parted, laughing, when Jemma almost fell off because she was stretched so far into midair.

Skye leaned over and quickly kissed Jemma's cheek when the two horses were in range for a second.

"What are we going to do all summer without the fun of that back and forth game we played where we took turns trying to test the waters?" Jemma asked.

"I have a few ideas." Skye smirked and Jemma rolled her eyes. She couldn't wait to get to know this new part of Skye that had just been exposed. In her best American accent, Jemma said,

"But I'm a fine preacher's daughter. Why, you're going to ruin me."

"Ugh. Awful accent." Skye laughed. "And I _meant_ ideas like going down to the lake to swim and taking you to the one restaurant we have here. You're the one with the dirty mind." Skye stuck out her tongue and trotted ahead of Jemma.

"There's a restaurant?" Jemma asked in disbelief.

"I know, it's hard to believe." Skye laughed. "It's more like a small diner."

"I figured." Jemma responded.

If someone had told Jemma right then that she was dead, she would have believed it. This scene, with Skye and Sunshine and Calypso would be what she imagined when she thought of heaven. She belonged here now. She felt like Skye was her home.


	15. 2- Chapter 3

That night Jemma found herself snuggled up on the couch with Skye, Phil, and May. She was only snuggling with Skye though, obviously. Phil and May were sitting side by side on the couch while they were watching a movie, and the couch was small, so it didn't leave enough room for two more people. Jemma had to sit on Skye's lap, but she was perfectly fine with that. She sat with her back leaning up against the armrest and her head leaning against the front of Skye's shoulder.

The move was Cowgirls n' Angels, no one was even going to try talking Skye out of watching it again. Jemma was the least upset, she hadn't seen the movie since the first time with Skye and was happy to watch it again. She hadn't been able to find a copy of it anywhere in England, if she had she would have been watching it every time she missed Skye.

Throughout the movie Jemma was absentmindedly toying with the soda tab on the chain around Skye's neck, the one she still wore, and Skye twirled a strand of Jemma's light brown hair around her finger. Every now and then Phil would glance over and grin at them. He'd probably never seen two people more in love in his life.

"You have to get off of me so I can go to bed." Skye told Jemma when the movie was over and Phil and May went to bed. May was already living with them, she would have moved in after the wedding anyway.

"Can't we just sleep here?" Jemma asked. She was perfectly comfortable where she was and didn't want to have to go to her cold bed when Skye was so warm beneath her.

"I'm sure you feel just fine, but I haven't been able to feel my legs for the last hour." Skye informed her. Jemma giggled and gave Skye a chaste kiss.

"I have to go, but I have plans for us tomorrow." Skye whispered with a smile, gently pushing Jemma off of her and onto the next cushion over. Jemma pouted, but it didn't keep Skye on the couch.

"Goodnight." Jemma finally sighed. She got up and walked Skye to the door.

"G'night." Skye whispered. Jemma watched the whole way as Skye walked out to the barn and disappeared inside.

* * *

"Jemma! Get up!" Jemma screamed when Skye tapped her shoulder. Skye clapped her hand over Jemma's mouth and only moved it once she was sure Jemma had calmed down.

"What is it, Skye? And why does it have to be at six in the morning?" Jemma asked once she was fully awake and sure that Skye was actually in her bedroom.

"Well, I woke up this morning and realized that I've never shown you the sunrise." Skye said brightly. "So get dressed!" Skye pulled the quilt off of Jemma and dug into her drawers, throwing a quickly put together outfit at her. Jemma really didn't feel like getting up, but Skye's enthusiasm made it impossible for her to decline. So she did as she was told, pushing Skye out of the room momentarily to get dressed.

Jemma instantly forgot all thoughts about not wanting to get up when she followed Skye out the front door and witnessed what Skye saw every morning.

The ground was still dark, but the light from the golden ball of light that was the sun was just above the horizon, lighting the clouds around it like they were lamp shades. Beams of light were visibly shining through the branches of nearby trees.

The sounds were just impressive as the sight. Some of the horses were making soft noises in the pens and birds were chirping all around. A pair of hummingbirds flew near Skye and Jemma, buzzing around them and appearing as if they were playing. It was like a dream. Small butterflies moved from flower to flower wherever there was open ground, and grasshoppers were beginning to wake up and buzz.

"I've never seen anything like it." Jemma breathed, Skye took Jemma's hand and led her up to the loft, where they proceeded to watch the entire sunrise. They sat there quietly enjoying each others' company until a rooster finally screeched, breaking the peaceful serenity of the scene. Skye smiled and got up to go feed the chickens, a new addition to the ranch. Skye had told her about them in her letters.

"Do you want to go to the lake this afternoon?" Jemma asked from outside the chicken coop. Skye was tossing grain on the ground and the chickens were jumping all over each other to get to it.

"Sounds great." Skye accepted.

"Girls, breakfast!" They heard Phil call from inside.

"Don't you usually eat breakfast way before us?" Jemma asked curiously.

"Yeah. I don't have much work today and thought that maybe you might like to see a little more of me." Skye smiled at her. "Coming, Phil!" She called back.

"Do you girls have any plans for today?" Phil asked them at the breakfast table. They had to eat in the small dining room now because there were four of them, and the small, round kitchen table had only held three.

"Jemma wants to go to the lake." Skye told him.

"I should warn you two then, there's supposed to be a storm late this afternoon." May spoke up, informing them of what she'd heard on the radio. Jemma gave Skye a sad look and May almost smiled at them.

"You should be able to make it out there for an hour or two this afternoon if you're not pokey on getting back." May told them. Jemma's bright smile returned.

* * *

"Why can't we ride there?" Jemma asked when she and Skye began the walk to the lake on the west side of the property.

"If you don't use your legs sometimes they'll turn to jelly." Skye told her, linking their arms as they walked over a hill. They talked and joked and laughed through the whole twenty minute walk to the lake, crossing through the horse pasture as a short cut.

When they finally reached the lake, Skye took off her flannel, leaving her in a tank top. She hung it over a tree branch along with her necklace and took off her shoes, leaving them at the base of the trunk.

"What are you doing?" Jemma asked. They'd come to the lake often last summer, but never gone swimming in it. Skye took off her jeans and Jemma closed her eyes tightly.

"Really Jemma? I'm wearing underwear. It's no different than a swimsuit." Skye laughed. Jemma only opened her eyes after she heard a splash. Skye was waist deep in the water, beckoning for Jemma to join her.

"No way. I don't really swim." Jemma told her, settling down on the ground.

"Live a little!" Skye shouted as she ducked under the water to get her hair wet and pushed it back off of her forehead when she reappeared on the surface. "Please?" When Jemma gave Skye a stern look, Skye walked out of the water and Jemma couldn't help but stare at Skye's legs.

"What are you doing?" Jemma stood up and asked as Skye neared her. "Hey! Stop that!" Jemma squealed when Skye picked Jemma up off the ground and threw her over her shoulder.

"Skye! Put me down!" Jemma told her, struggling to escape her death grip.

"If you say so." Skye told her, pulling Jemma's boots off of her feet, tossing them in the grass, and then proceeding to dump Jemma into the water. Jemma screamed and Skye laughed at her.

Jemma was extremely annoyed with her, but she couldn't help the smile that was creeping onto her face, and she had to admit that the cool water felt good compared to the hot, humid summer air. She splashed the smirk off of Skye's face and jumped on top of her, wrapping her legs around Skye's waist and dunking her head underwater.

When Skye's head popped back up, she stood straight up with Jemma still clinging to her and feel backwards into the water, both of them laughing.

"You're annoying, you know." Jemma told her when they had finally calmed down and were treading water next to each other. Neither girl had noticed the grey clouds beginning to gather above their heads.

Skye just raised her eyebrows and smiled.

"Skye?" Jemma said her name softly. Skye cocked her head slightly to ask what Jemma was thinking. They moved to a spot where they could both stand with the water at the height of their shoulders. Jemma moved closer to Skye and took her face with both hands. Skye understood the seriousness of Jemma's tone and decided not to make any stupid jokes.

"What is it?" She asked. Jemma slowly moved closer and pressed her lips against Skye's. She relished the soft, gently kiss that could only come from Skye.

"I love you." She whispered.

"I know, I love you t-"

"No, Skye. I'm _in_ love with you." Jemma corrected herself and brushed her thumb along Skye's cheekbone. Skye's eyes were watering and her lip was quivering slightly.

"Skye? Are you alright?" Jemma asked. She hadn't expected her to start crying. Skye nodded furiously and swiped at her eyes.

"I've never heard anyone say it." She muttered. "I'm in love with you too." She responded. Jemma's lips spread into a wide smile and at that moment water drops began to fall from above. She wrapped her arms around Skye's waist and pulled them together. Jemma couldn't tell the difference between the tears and the rain drops running down Skye's cheeks, but she wiped them all away regardless.

They just stood there in the water, holding each other close, until they both shrieked in fright at a sudden jolt of lighting and an accompanying rolling thunder sound. They both laughed at each other for their foolishness and pulled themselves out of the water. Jemma waited for Skye to put her clothes back on before they took off running back to the house, trying not to slip in the mud.

When they did finally make it inside the house, laughing and covered in dirty water, they froze on the mat in front of the door because of May's stare.

"Phil, they're back!" She called over her shoulder. Jemma pressed herself into Skye's side and they held hands behind their backs.

"I was so worried about you two!" He said with a slightly raised voice. They cringed, he'd never really been mad at them except for the one time he was mad at Jemma for the cow thief incident. His anger quickly disappeared though, because he knew they had no way to tell what time the storm would hit.

"Just go get out of those wet clothes. And Skye, you can sleep in the house tonight, I don't think we've fixed that leak in the loft's roof yet." He told them, putting his hand on his forehead and walking away. Skye looked at Jemma and snickered at the way she stood. If Jemma had a tail, it would have been tucked between her legs.

"He's not mad, don't worry." Skye told her as they entered her bedroom.

"We're close enough to the same size." Jemma observed as she picked clothes out of her dresser. She tossed a few articles of clothing at Skye and tried to look away when she stripped down and changed immediately.

"Turn around." Jemma ordered Skye before she changed herself. Skye laughed and faced the wall, knowing how modest Jemma always was.

Although Phil offered, neither Jemma nor Skye was hungry enough to eat dinner, they were both just tired.

Phil only allowed it because they kept the door open. Jemma beckoned for Skye to lie down next to her and there was no chance in hell that Skye would decline. She cuddled up next to Jemma and rested her arm across Jemma's stomach. Jemma kissed Skye's forehead and they fell asleep almost instantly, shivering slightly and trying obtain heat from each other.


	16. 2- Chapter 4

"Are you ready?" Jemma asked Skye. She was braiding Skye's hair in the back seat of Phil's pickup truck. He only used it when he had to transfer a horse in a trailer, which was what they were doing. Calypso was riding in the trailer behind them. Everyone in the truck was excited for the rodeo they were driving an hour to get to. They knew May was excited too, she was just bad at showing it.

Skye, however, was radiating it. Her fingers drummed against her legs and she could hardly hold still while Jemma continued with her hair. Skye had mentioned how she had almost messed up her last rodeo because her hair got in her eyes, and after some convincing, Skye finally let Jemma put it up.

"Absolutely." Skye smiled.

"We're here." Phil twisted around to tell them. Jemma tied off the end of Skye's braid and looked out the window with her. She'd never been to a rodeo and was already liking it.

It wasn't a fancy rodeo, it was one that was put together temporarily in a large flat section of land and packed up to move on. Bleachers surrounded a big stadium-like dirt field that had several different types of entrances, presumably for different events.

Surrounding the stadium were multitudes of horse trailers and horses tied to various objects, along with people selling food at little tent set ups. Parents were chasing after hyper children and it was a special, organized chaos that was both fun and comfortable.

Phil drove up to someone wearing a neon vest, gave him Skye's and Calypso's names, and then drove in the direction he pointed to their designated area.

Skye opened the door of the truck and hopped out before it was even at a complete stop and ran around to get Calypso.

Skye's braid was perfect, if Jemma said so herself, and she looked very good in it. She was wearing her cowboy boots and jeans that were actually tucked into the boots for once. Her flannel was buttoned and tucked in and she wore a belt buckle that showed off a previous win. She didn't wear her hat though, she'd explained to Jemma that it fell off every time and wasn't worth the effort.

Jemma assisted Skye in calming Calypso down, which wasn't an easy task, because he recognized his surroundings and was just as excited as Skye.

"Skye! I see you're competing again! I don't have a chance!" A strange man walked up to Skye and gathered her up in a big hug. Skye laughed and Jemma stood aside, uncomfortable.

"Oh, please, you're good and you know it." Skye told him, taking Jemma's hand. Skye knew her well enough to know that she got nervous around strangers.

"I guess, but you'll always be better." he told her. He looked kind of odd to Jemma. He was dressed similarly to Skye and his hair was a brownish color and was very short, like it had just been cut. He had a mustache and facial hair that was a little more than a five o'clock shadow.

"Who's this?" He asked Skye, nodding towards Jemma.

"This is my girlfriend, Jemma." She said proudly.

"Nice to meet you, Jemma." He offered his hand and Jemma shook it quietly, blushing. It was the first time Skye had introduced her to anyone that way and it made her bubbly.

"Well, I'm on a few minutes. We'll chat after?" He asked her.

"Of course. Cya later, Hunter." She waved as he turned and left, picking up his horse and walking near the entrance that was used for barrel racing.

"When are you on?" Jemma asked. She looked to her right and observed for the first time a horse spinning around one of the barrels. It looked terrifying.

"Considering they're already barrel racing, it could be any minute. I should get going. Find May and Phil inside, you'll just have to third wheel until I'm through." Skye told her, rubbing the side of her arm. Jemma was visibly nervous at the thought of Skye out there doing the stunt she was watching right now.

"Good luck." Jemma pushed through her fear and grabbed the collar of Skye's shirt, forcefully pulling her down to meet her lips. Skye was startled, but kissed her back gratefully. They smiled through their kiss when they heard catcalls teasing them from all around.

"I'll be fine." Skye told Jemma as she mounted Calypso and rode to the waiting area. Jemma had a terrible feeling that she wasn't going to see Skye again, but she forced herself to walk to the bleachers. It was just a sport. A game. That's what this was, it was a game. Skye would be fine.

_The Hunger Games was a game_, her subconscious pointed out. _People died in that game._ Jemma was regretting watching that video of barrel racing accidents when Skye first mentioned the sport in her letters. People got thrown off their horses and accidentally kicked or stepped on, their legs were smashed into metal barrels, fences, and walls, horses fell on them, all kinds of horrible scenarios began to play out in Jemma's head.

She found a seat on her own on the bleachers. She had gone to sit with her uncle and soon-to-be-aunt, but May was actually smiling and they appeared to be having a good time, so Jemma let them be and found her own seat. She watched anxiously as several more riders ran around the barrels. She tracked the times in her head. _18.546, 17.854, 18.376, 26.912 (the rider knocked over a barrel and earned a five second penalty), 19.730, 17.501..._ And finally there was Skye.

"And here comes Skye, the mysterious cowgirl without a last name who's stolen first place at many a rodeo in this area over the past year. 17.509, that's the time to beat. Skye's taken the lead from people with better scores, I'm betting she can do it again." The announcers were speaking as Skye and Calypso did a weird little side trot as they neared the starting point.

"And there she goes!" Skye burst out of the starting gate at an unbelievable speed, faster than she'd ever seen her ride a horse. She was at the first barrel in no time flat and Jemma's nails dug into her palms for the small moment that Calypso rounded the barrel. They cut the turn so close that Jemma swore she saw the barrel rock a bit where Skye's foot had tapped it. Skye was at the second barrel now, and Jemma leaned against the rail as Calypso's hind legs dropped to make more of a spin than a turn. Jemma could already tell that Skye was moving through the course faster than the others had, even if only by a bit.

The muscles in Calypso's legs bulged as he ran the distance to the third and final barrel. Jemma was biting her tongue to keep from screaming out. Skye bounced just a little bit too high on one stride and it practically put Jemma over the edge, but she planted herself back in the saddle just in time to round the last barrel. This was usually the barrel people accidentally made wide turns on, but Calypso was focused and went around it just as well as the other two. As soon as Skye had cleared the barrel, Jemma jumped up in the air and yelled along with the rest of the crowd. Skye sped her way back through the middle of the track to the finish.

"She's done it again! Her time just came in, Skye's gotten a 17.125! This girl should be barrel racing nationally, I don't see what she's doing here!" One of the announcers yelled. Jemma cheered and yelled Skye's name. As she left through the exit, she turned and waved at Jemma over her shoulder, a huge smile on her face. Jemma was itching to run down and congratulate her, but only riders were allowed where she was and since Skye knew where she was sitting, she'd probably show up in a minute or two.

"Do you know her?" A random girl who looked about twelve leaned against the gate next to Jemma and asked her. Jemma looked confused, so the girl expanded on her question.

"Skye, the barrel racer. She waved to you." The girl said. If Jemma wasn't mistaken the little girl sounded jealous.

"Skye is my girlfriend." Jemma smiled, glad to use that sentence.

"Really? Can you introduce me?" The kid asked with excitement.

"Why would-" The girl cut Jemma off.

"I've idolized her since she started competing. I know she's going to make it to nationals. She's my favorite barrel racer." She said. It was then that Jemma realized what Skye was actually doing. She might be one of those athletes on T.V. that everyone roots for. This kid apparently was already a fan.

"Jemma!" Skye pushed through the crowd of people and hastily kissed Jemma. Jemma wanted to just stand there and kiss her, but there was a twelve-year-old watching.

"Skye." Jemma interrupted her.

"Hm?" She asked, not sure why Jemma was pulling away.

"Uh, what's your name?" Jemma asked the kid.

"Steph." She answered.

"Steph wanted to meet you." Jemma told Skye, nudging her side with her elbow and smiling at her.

"Well hi there." Skye squatted down so she was the same height as the girl.

"Can I have your autograph?" She asked shyly. The very outgoing girl that approached Jemma had suddenly been humbled by meeting Skye.

"Sure." Skye laughed. Clearly nothing like this had ever happened to her. The girl handed Skye a small notebook and a pen and Skye opened it up to the first page, signing her short name in big letters.

"Thank you!" The little girl squeaked, hugging the book to her chest. Jemma put her hand on Skye's back as she straightened her legs.

"Stephanie!" A woman called the little girl and she turned her head.

"I'm so sorry about her." The girl's probable mother blushed and told Skye.

"Oh, it's no problem." Skye laughed and the woman led Steph away by the hand.

"That was hilarious." Jemma told Skye. Skye smacked her arm and grinned. "You didn't tell me you were famous." She joked.

"No one told me either!" Skye complained sarcastically, finally sitting down on the bleachers with Jemma to watch the rest of the barrel racers until she had to go back for the results. So far no one had beat her time, and Jemma was crossing her fingers for good luck, even though such things were merely superstition.

"You're really good at that." Jemma told her as they held hands. "Really good." She repeated.

"Yeah. I guess I am." Skye looked out at the barrels and smiled. It looked like she was deep in thought. Jemma wondered if the kid was right about Skye. Was she going to become a professional barrel racer? How did that work? Did she travel the country like in other sports? How was she ever going to see her?

**I'll try to have the next chapter posted soon, but school is tomorrow. :( I'll see what I can do. **

**Salkri Kachemench: Don't worry, you'll get that hurt/comfort theme a few chapters from now. It's all planned out and I'm sure you're going to like it.**


	17. 2- Chapter 5

Skye won first place again. She'd won another saddle to add to her growing collection of barrel racing prizes.

"You were amazing." Jemma told Skye. They were walking hand in hand back to the bleachers after putting the saddle into the truck. Calypso was tied to the trailer so he could nibble be outside until it was time to go.

"Hey, what are they doing to that horse?" Jemma asked Skye, trying to point as discretely as possible. Skye followed Jemma's line of sight and her blood began to boil. A horse in the starting gate for bronc riding was struggling in the barely horse-sized enclosure when he was poked at with something. Jemma was obviously missing something, she didn't understand when Skye stormed up to them after urging her to stay behind.

"What do you think you're doing?" Skye crossed her arms over her chest and asked them angrily. It was then that Jemma recognized what the men working the rodeo had been tormenting the horse with. It was a taser, probably meant to make a tame horse wild for the entertainment of a crowd watching a person riding trying to stay on him. It was disgusting. Jemma joined Skye in questioning them.

"This is illegal. We can report you for this." Jemma growled at them. Skye looked surprised that Jemma was standing next to her, but also relieved that she was there. Jemma reached for Skye's hand when the men glared at them and put away the torture device.

"It's your word against ours, kid. Who's security going to believe, the loyal employee of twenty years or a pair of dykes who just joined the rodeo?" He asked. Jemma clutched Skye's elbow and held her back when she sensed Skye wanting to take a shot at the man who smirked at his cruel use of words.

They all laughed as Jemma held Skye back, shouting derogatory things like "Go home, lezzies", and "Look, that one's the man of the relationship" while pointing at Skye. Jemma moved to face Skye and stand between her and the men.

"Forget them. They're not worth it." Jemma tried to bring the flames in Skye's eyes down to a small flicker.

Jemma finally convinced Skye to walk away and the med got a good laugh out of watching them.

"Shorty, if you ever need a real man, you know where to find me." One of them cackled as the girls left, directing his statement at Jemma. That did it for Skye, she finally escaped Jemma's grasp and marched up to the offender, throwing a punch that sent the full grown man stumbling and holding his bleeding nose. The other two stood there and stared at her in shock.

"Cowards." Skye growled at the men before taking Jemma's hand and leading her away.

* * *

"Can May arrest them?" Jemma asked. They were standing next to their truck and trailer, trying to come up with solutions for the horse that was being abused.

"No, May is only the sheriff of our town. She doesn't have any power here." Skye continued pacing. Jemma grabbed Skye's shoulders to stop her and she hated seeing her eyes so watery. Skye was very upset by the idea of anyone hurting that horse.

"Those guys were right about one thing; no one would believe us without real proof. And we don't have cameras." Skye said.

"So you're saying there's nothing we can do to save the horse?" Jemma asked sadly.

"No, I'm saying there's nothing we can do to save the horse _by the book._" Skye told her.

"Skye! You know I can't be a part of your bad girl shenanigans!" Jemma complained.

"You don't have to come." Skye told her.

"Are you crazy? Of course I'm coming! I can't let you do something like that alone!" Jemma said.

"Well then it's settled. We're going to steal a horse." Skye informed her.

"Skye! You've done things before, but this is something else!" Skye pressed a finger to Jemma's lips to get her to be quiet because the volume of her voice had slowly been rising.

"It's the only way to get that poor horse out of those men's clutches." Skye said very convincingly. Jemma seemed to maul it over, mentally making a list of pros and cons per usual.

"Fine. But what do we tell Phil and May?" She asked.

"The truth. There's no other option. Our horse trailer only holds one, he'll know something is up when I have to ride the horse back home." She said. Jemma was still uncomfortable, but she knew this was the only way they were going to save the horse.

"What if they open a case?" Jemma asked.

"They won't. To men like that, when a horse isn't convenient they lose interest. If we can get him off the scene we'll be clear." Skye promised her.

* * *

"Now." Skye whispered. They had been waiting near the truck that held their target horse for an hour. It was sunset now and the rodeo was starting to pack up. Phil and May had tried to convince them not to continue with their plan, but the both of them agreed with Skye. They didn't want that horse to go home with its abusive owner. Someone needed to save him and no one else was going to.

Since the men that had harassed them earlier worked at the rodeo, they were busy with their jobs, leaving their horses unattended. They ran from their own trailer over to the trailer the pinto horse was tied to.

"You can still go back if you want." Skye offered when they ducked down beside the trailer.

"No way. This is actually a bit thrilling." Jemma smiled, but inside she was terrified. Their plan was to ride off on a wild horse with the owners nearby. Phil and May started to drive away so that they would be far enough down the road when Skye and Jemma stole the horse. This was so both Skye, Jemma, and their truck could be long gone in a second.

"How are you going to ride a wild horse bareback?" Jemma asked.

"He's not wild. Just scared." Skye told Jemma when she found the horse they were looking for. He looked at them with wide eyes when they approached, but only flinched slightly when Skye rubbed his forehead.

Skye mounted the horse slowly and carefully, making sure he wasn't going to spook. Once Skye was on securely, she held her hand down to Jemma. While Jemma was situating herself, the horse shifted uncomfortably and stamped its foot.

"Hold on." Skye told Jemma just in time. The horse kicked its back legs and Jemma's weight fell forward onto Skye's back, knocking the wind out of both of them. The horse continued to kick and try to rear, it had been trained that when it didn't buck it was shocked. Jemma and Skye would have fallen off long ago if the horse hadn't still been tied to the trailer.

"Hey!" The horse had called the attention of one of the men, the one Skye had punched.

Skye untied the lead and pressed her legs against the horse's side, holding on for dear life as the horse bounced around uncontrollably.

"Come on! We're trying to help you!" Jemma shouted at the horse. Just before the man reached them, the horse spotted the taser in his hand and started galloping down the road at top speed. Skye was used to this, but Jemma had to cling to her to keep herself on the horse. She clenched her jaw for the next few minutes, Skye didn't want to try and slow the horse down, especially if he was moving so fast in the right direction.

Eventually they caught up with Phil and May in the truck, and they looked out at them with horrified expressions. They signaled for them to slow down, but Skye couldn't get the horse to listen to her.

"Jump, Jemma!" Jemma could barely hear Skye in front of her over the wind rushing around her ears. She wasn't sure she heard Skye right. Did she just ask her to jump off the back of the horse?

The horse had slowed down a little and was now at a fast canter. Skye wanted Jemma to tuck and roll while she had the opportunity and she was going to ride the horse down the road until he ran out of energy. She knew asking her to jump was dangerous, but she could feel Jemma slipping behind her the longer they rode and she was afraid she was going to fall off with Jemma and the horse would probably step on them.

"Trust me!" Skye screamed. She did her best to push the horse to the left and into the grass beside the road.

Jemma wasn't sure why Skye wanted her to abort, but she knew Skye wouldn't tell her to do something that dangerous unless not doing it would be more dangerous. Jemma slowly let go of Skye with one hand and pushed herself off of the horse to the left. She landed on the ground with a thump and the wind was knocked out of her. She felt a distinct pain in her chest, but she didn't think anything was broken.

She watched in horror as the horse Skye was riding sped up again without Jemma's weight and even Skye struggled to stay on as he kicked his back legs out and jumped every now and then.

The truck pulled over and Phil jumped out, running to Jemma's side.

"I'm fine, I'm fine." Jemma kept repeating as May helped her to her feet. Phil wouldn't have believed her, but she knew Jemma had a low pain tolerance and was a terrible liar, so if she really was hurt he would have known. Only a few scratches had been inflicted on her arms and they were hardly bleeding.

"The horse wouldn't stop. We've got to catch up." Jemma told Phil and May, who were both regretting this plan at least a little bit. Phil nodded and helped Jemma into the truck, not delaying on getting started down the road again.

They drove for half an hour and they still hadn't seen Skye. They were over halfway home and it was unlikely that the horse would have run at the speed of a truck for that long without getting tired. Either Skye had gone off course or she'd fallen off.

"Where could she have gone?" Jemma asked, her palm pressed against the window of the truck. There were visible creases of worry on Phil's forehead and they turned around when they reached their own ranch and still hadn't seen hide or tail of Skye or the horse they had rescued... or stolen.

"We have to call the police." Jemma said.

"One, I am the police." May rolled her eyes at Jemma. "And two, she's riding a stolen horse. It wouldn't be good for her if any officer other than me found her right now."

"What if she's out there, hurt?" Jemma said.

"We'll just have to see." May said. Jemma was not happy with this answer, but there was nothing she could do to stop Phil from driving home. Calypso needed to get out anyway, Phil had told her.

When they parked, Jemma insisted on being the one to take Calypso back to his stall. She felt like he was a little piece of Skye. She rubbed his nose and whispered to him like Skye would and brought him back to his stall, only to find a familiar pinto horse in it instead.

"Skye!" Jemma called. She was startled when Skye jumped up from the floor of the stall, hair full of the shavings that were covering the ground.

"Hey there." She said.

"You idiot!" Jemma yelled, quieting only when she realized the horses were disturbed. Skye's eyes were wide like a deer in the headlights and Jemma dropped Calypso's lead rope. He was trained well enough not to just walk off anyway.

"That was so dangerous!" She said. No matter how hard she tried, Jemma couldn't stay angry with Skye.

"I guess this summer it's your turn to yell at me for doing something stupid." Skye said. Jemma couldn't help but smile a little bit when she remembered how furious Skye had been at her last summer.

"I love you, you idiot." Jemma hugged Skye when she finally came out of the stall. Skye squeezed her back tightly and pressed her lips against her skin just below the ear.

"I love you too." Skye whispered. They simply stood there in each other's arms until Calypso shoved his nose between them, sending the two into fits of giggles.

"We can put Calypso in the pasture until I'm sure this big guy is ok." Skye told Jemma, taking Calypso's lead.

Jemma was in shock still. She and Skye had stolen a horse! Fitz was going to have a fit. Jemma suddenly felt ridiculously terrible. She hadn't written him yet, the whole week she'd been here. She probably just hadn't gotten his in the mail yet, and he would be waiting another whole week to get her first one. She explained this to Skye, who was perfectly understanding and shooed her off to go tell Phil she was home safe and to go write that letter.

_Dear Fitz,_

_I am SO sorry! I've been so caught up in things this summer I haven't written you! _

_I don't even know where to begin, even though it's only been a week. Skye and I are doing amazing, she's everything I've ever wanted and more. You'll understand exactly what I mean when you start dating. Speaking of, have you found someone to socialize with this summer besides my parents? I hope you have._

_Well, anyway, you're never going to believe all that's happened. I went to one of Skye's rodeos and she was amazing, she got first place in the barrel racing competition. Some little girl asked for her autograph, it was adorable! _

_We also saved a horse. I saw him being abused by three men (who were more than impolite when we approached them), and we didn't know exactly what to do, so we stole him! It was terrifying, but also gratifying, knowing we saved the poor guy..._


	18. 2- Chapter 6

**Salkri, here's that chapter you were waiting for. I'm terribly sorry that it may be disturbing to some of you, maybe I'm just a really evil person. This chapter is an example of why this story is rated T, it's pretty graphic, be warned. This was incredibly hard for me to write. :(**

Skye's next rodeo came faster than Jemma had expected. Another week of sweet bliss had gone by with Skye going swimming, stargazing, riding, watching movies, and even reading. Well, Jemma would read. She would supply Skye with a book, but the minute Jemma would sit on the couch with her legs across Skye's lap, Skye would put the book down and watch Jemma.

This rodeo was a little further away in a different town and Skye was clearly impatient to get there. Braiding her hair only took so long and Skye got easily bored when she sat still for too long. Her feet were tapping noisily against the floor of the truck and she was playing with the headband she wore to keep her bangs out of her eyes during a run.

"We'll get there soon enough." Jemma assured her. Then Skye finally found something entertaining to do.

"Really, girls, in the car?" Phil asked. The two broke their kiss under the watchful eyes of Phil in the rear view mirror.

* * *

As Skye was prepping Calypso, binding wraps around his ankles to prevent injury and double checking that all his tack was in place, Jemma saw them. The three men they had stolen the horse from last week. The men saw her too. Jemma ducked behind Calypso, but she was sure they had already seen her. She watched them as they walked away and their cackling made her nervous.

She should have told Skye, she knew, but she didn't want to worry her right before her run. One little mistake could cause a loss.

"Good luck out there." Jemma told Skye when she was ready, giving Skye a quick kiss. She had intended for it to be quick, but Skye wrapped her arms around Jemma's waist and held her close, deepening the kiss. It was warm and sweet as the she slowly made Jemma mad with desire.

Jemma had never had these feelings before, but at that moment, she imagined what sex would be like with Skye one day and let out a soft moan that was far beyond her control. Skye smiled at her as if she could read her thoughts.

"Twenty-three, you're up next!" A voice called to Skye. That was her registered number, so as Skye mounted the horse swiftly like Jemma's knight in shining armor, Jemma sent her an air kiss and rushed off to the bleachers to spectate.

"You're my good luck charm!" She heard Skye call out, laughing, as she entered the waiting area for riders.

Jemma found herself a seat, sitting beside Phil after he and May insisted she sit with them this time. A weird feeling started bubbling up in her stomach hen the rider just before Skye finished his run. 17.327, that was a hard time to beat. She was confident that Skye could one up him, though.

The growing feeling in the pit of her stomach grew from a growl to a roar when she spotted the man Skye had punched at the last rodeo as one of the staff raking the beat up dirt around the second barrel before the next few riders had their turns.

She saw him drop something, but she wasn't sure what it was until it was too late.

"Skye, stop!" Jemma screamed, jumping from her seat and pressing her body against the gate as Skye rounded the first barrel. There was no way Skye could have heard her though, and Jemma's body began shaking as she continued to scream for Skye to stop her horse. The little object that horrible man had dropped was a rubber snake.

Calypso was trained almost perfectly, but if there was one thing he was terrified of, as Jemma had learned on a trail ride last summer, it was snakes.

A gasp escaped nearly the whole crowd when Calypso finally spotted the pretend snake and went from a full gallop to a complete stop, causing Skye to violently fall off of him. Jemma sucked in a breath and held it. Skye didn't even get a few inches off the ground before a screech escaped someone on that side of the stadium. Calypso had started galloping again, and Skye's foot was still stuck in the stirrup. Phil and May jumped to their feet and watched helplessly like everyone else in the crowd as Calypso tried to complete the course like he was trained to, dragging Skye across the arena behind him at nearly thirty miles an hour.

Jemma felt like the next few seconds were more like hours. Skye's arms were tucked around her head, she was trying and failing miserably to block the kicks Calypso accidentally hit her with every time he took a step. She soon realized that was useless and tried clawing at the ground, but there was nothing in the barren arena for her to hold onto.

The fact that something Calypso couldn't see was dragging beside him spooked him even further as he ran around the last barrel. The barrel was a left turn, and Skye had the misfortune to have been stuck on that side. When Skye crashed into the barrel, her body fell limp and Jemma's blood ran cold.

On the straight sprint back to the finish, a man from the crowd had finally gotten into the arena and blocked Calypso's path. Calypso dodged everyone who attempted to stop him, but eventually whatever otherworldly being acted as a god finally had mercy on Skye and her foot fell free of the stirrup. Calypso crossed the finish and slowed to a stop, realizing that he didn't have a rider and wondering where Skye had gone.

"Skye!" Jemma screamed. She ignored her better judgment and jumped the fence, stumbling in the dirt herself. She ran blindly towards Skye, who was lying face down in the dirt.

Several men were already surrounding her, but no one knew exactly what to do.

"Somebody call 911!" Jemma screamed at them, hating that no one even attempted to figure out what action to take next. She collapsed in front of Skye and lifted her face from the dirt. It was a mess. What little part of it wasn't covered in already nasty bruises and blood was coated in a layer of dirt.

"Skye, love, can you hear me?" Jemma cried, trying her best to comfort Skye without moving her. She didn't know how much pain Skye was in or where it originated from, so it was best not to touch her, no matter how much Jemma wanted to pull her close. She knew Skye was conscious by the way her sides heaved while she was breathing, probably because more than the wind had been knocked out of her and she was probably trying to catch her breath.

"Just a bump on the head, 's ok." Skye mumbled, obviously delirious and still trying to not worry Jemma. There was so much blood. It crusted in her hair and covered half of Skye's face, running out the corners of her mouth and from her nose.

She pushed back some of Skye's hair, which was now loose, and Skye winced. There was a nasty wound there, either from crashing into the heavy metal barrel or from being kicked in the head.

"Hold on, ok, the ambulance is coming." Jemma told her, cradling Skye's head in her lap and trying to access her injuries.

"It hurts." Skye cried, her reserve finally broken. Tears that had been threatening to escape Jemma's eyes finally won, pouring over her cheeks. Phil and May joined her, trying to keep the growing crowd at least five feet away from them. Jemma saw a quick flash that probably came from a camera and was disgusted. Who would take a picture at a time like this?

"I know, but it will all be over soon." Jemma assured her, flattening her hair out of her face and pressing a kiss to Skye's forehead. Even that made her flinch and Jemma apologized a thousand times.

"No, not like that. Not over like that." She cried in frustration when Skye closed her eyes. "Skye, please. Stay awake. Skye, dammit!" Jemma cursed. She checked Skye's pulse and was relieved to find a heartbeat. But the battle wasn't over yet, sirens could only just be heard in the distance.

Jemma noticed one thing she could do for Skye. Her right shoulder was definitely dislocated.

"Uncle Phil, please, hold her up a little." Jemma asked him, sliding out from underneath Skye's head and letting her uncle take her place.

"If you can hear me, Skye, I want you to know that this is going to hurt. It will only hurt for a second though, and it will make you feel at least a little bit better." Jemma talked to her. Skye gave a tiny little nod and Jemma took it as permission to continue.

"On three. One.. Two..." _crack._ Jemma had no intention of putting her shoulder back in place on three, it was much better if it happened when you weren't expecting. Jemma remembered she had been thankful the paramedic who had relocated her arm when she fell out of a tree as a child had done the same thing.

Skye's eyes flashed open and she cried out in pain. Jemma could almost feel the pain Skye was going through just by looking at the twisted agony on her face.

"Ok, good, you're awake. Please stay with me." Jemma whispered to Skye, gently placing one hand on her neck. It seemed like the least damaged part of her. Jemma was more than thankful that Skye's neck hadn't snapped during the endeavor.

"Everywhere." Skye moaned.

"What?" Jemma asked.

"It hurts... everywhere." Skye clarified, reaching out with one hand and clutching the hem of Jemma's shirt. Jemma traded places with Phil again so that Skye could stay close to her.

"I know it does, but you're going to be ok. I promise." Jemma whispered comfortingly. An ambulance suddenly drove straight into the area through the starting gate, parting the crowd and parking with its back end a few yards away from Jemma, Phil, May and Skye on the ground.

The paramedics were shouting things to each other, things that Jemma found herself understanding and wishing she could help with. Skye tried to keep herself together as the paramedics tried as carefully as possible to move her damaged, dirty body onto the stretcher, but she couldn't contain her cries. Jemma held her hand and whispered comforting words the whole way, until the paramedics stopped her before entering the ambulance.

"Are you family?" One of them asked her.

"No. But-" Jemma started to say, but she was cut off.

"Only family can ride in the ambulance. I'm sorry." He told her.

"Please, she doesn't have family. We're the only thing she's got." Jemma gestured to her and Phil and May, giving the paramedic a pleading look.

"I'm sorry. Rules are rules." He told her, stepping into the ambulance.

"Jemma?" Skye called her name.

"I'm going to see you very soon, ok Skye? Very soon." She cried as the paramedics began to close the doors.

"Which hospital are you taking her to?" Phil asked, remembering to ask.

"St. Peters. We really have to be going." He told them, closing the door and turning on the sirens. People were still staring in shock at the scene that had gone from a fun rodeo to a crime scene in a matter of seconds.

"That man, he sabotaged her run." Jemma fumed as soon as the ambulance was out of sight. Apparently word of the incident had gotten out on social media and a news van was outside the arena as well.

"You all need to evacuate the premises, this is now an active place of investigation." The police had showed up with the ambulance and began clearing the area.

"It was him, please take him into custody. I'm telling you the truth, he tried to kill Skye." Jemma said, pointing to the offender. He hadn't run off to make it seem like he wasn't guilty, but it was about to backfire on him. The officer told her he would take what she said into the investigation and asked her to leave. May nodded to Jemma and she began walking towards the exit with them.

Light reflected off of a small object in the dirt on the way out and Jemma's breath caught in her throat as she picked up the soda tab necklace. It had probably fallen off Skye. She knew crime scenes were supposed to stay perfectly intact, but she didn't want the precious object to end up in a plastic bag, stored in an evidence room in some basement somewhere. It didn't belong there, it belonged with Skye. May nodded to tell her that she could take it, and Jemma clutched it to her chest as they walked out.

Just outside Hunter was waiting with Calypso. Jemma couldn't help but be angry with the horse and Phil had to untack him. Hunter offered to take Calypso home with him so that they could drive to the hospital without worrying about him, and they accepted the offer gratefully.

"Do you have any comment on the attempt on your girlfriend's life?" Jemma was suddenly bombarded with reporters who had shown up. A normal rodeo accident wouldn't have caused this much attention from the big shot news channels, this must have been more. Jemma just shook her head no weakly, but the reporters wanted some good video, so they continued to question her.

"Have the two of you faced hate crimes like this before?" A woman asked, pushing a microphone way too close to her face. So that was it. This whole thing was thought to be a hate crime. She guessed that was better, no one would ever know about the stolen horse. But because of the supposed involvement of their sexuality, she knew this would probably be all over the state, or the country, in a matter of days.

"No comment." May finally came to her rescue, guiding Jemma away by the shoulders and closing the truck door behind her, barely doing so without hitting any microphones or equipment of the reporters.


	19. 2- Chapter 7

**I'm sorry this chapter took so long to write but is still short, I'm sick as hell and trying to write on my phone from my bed in between falling asleep every ten minutes. I'll try to continue posting as best as I can, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to finish another chapter until I get better.**

Jemma walked across the field, holding the bundle of flowers tightly in one hand. It was warm. It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining, birds were chirping, and there was a slight breeze carrying the scent of daisies and roses. But something was wrong. Jemma couldn't be happy, not even on a day like this. She would never be happy again.

Jemma knelt in the grass and couldn't help but be annoyed by the scratchy feeling it put on her knees under her dress. She placed the flowers delicately on the freshly planted grass in front of the large piece of stone.  
"Skye." It read. "Loving friend."

Jemma's eyes flashed open and she shot up in bed. A thin sheen of sweat covered her and she threw the quilt off of her body, padding down the hallway on bare feet to make sure Skye was still sleeping on the couch, alive.

She sighed when she saw Skye in the glow of the muted T.V.. It was just a dream.  
It had been a terribly long and eventful four days. Skye had gone through multiple surguries and was now recovering.

Everyone had agreed that Skye had to stay in the house until she was one hundred percent better. She wouldn't have been able to get up the stairs to the loft anyway, she had strict orders from her doctor to stay put.

Her broken ankle, the one that had been caught in the stirrup, was propped up on several pillows, her right arm, still in a sling, lay limp across her stomach, and pretty much every inch of visible skin was bruised. She had been allowed to remove the bandages from her head, but the stitches above her temple stayed put. One of her eyes was still swollen halfway shut and her lip was busted, but she was a trooper. Skye always took everything with a grain of salt.

She was watching T.V. without the volume, just staring at the glowing screen while the pictures moved.

"How can you be entertained by this? How do you know what they're saying?" Jemma asked, kneeling beside the couch near Skye's head. She looked pitiful, but still managed a smile.

"I just imagine it." She explained, quickly losing interest in her made up plot now that Jemma was there.

"How are you feeling?" Jemma asked. She gently rubbed circles with her thumb into Skye's palm. It was one of the only parts of her Jemma could touch without hurting her. Even though her ribs and other bones weren't broken, they sure as hell were bruised.

"Like I could use another one of those." Skye answered, glancing at the bottle of prescribed pain pills on the coffee table. Jemma checked her watch and determined that Skye could have another one at this point if she needed it.

Jemma reached for the bottle and dumped one of the little tablets into the palm of her hand. Skye held open her mouth obediantly as Jemma dropped it on her tongue. Skye lifted her head as best as she could and Jemma picked up the glass from the side table and brought it up to Skye's lips, allowing her to take a drink with the medication.

There were unspoken words floating around the room, both hiding in corners and bouncing right in front of their faces. They didn't need to tell each other they loved the other for them to know it was true.  
But then there were the hidden words, the ones that snuck underneath the couch and tugged at Jemma's pajamas. She was perfectly aware of them, annoyingly aware of them, while Skye had no idea they were there. _I'm sorry_, they begged Jemma to say. _I'm sorry, Skye, you're hurt again and it's my fault._

Jemma noticed that history was repeating itself. This was the second summer she had let someone get away, someone who ultimately ended up hurting Skye. It always seemed to be her fault, it was always her stupidity that landed Skye in these situations.

Skye's hand on her cheek shook Jemma from her thoughts and her eyes focused again. That didn't matter now. Skye needed her, and she had every intention of being there for her.

"What is it?" Jemma asked curiously, searching Skye's eyes under the dim light of the T.V. for her answer.

"Come closer." Skye requested.

"I'm afraid I'm going to hurt you." Jemma told her, fighting the urge to do as Skye asked and kiss her senseless.

"These pain pills are so strong that in a minute or two a truck could run over me and I wouldn't feel a thing." Skye informed her. Jemma winced at the sudden image Skye had put in her mind and tried to brush off the cold feeling she'd been stuck with since she saw that rubber snake in the dirt.

"Just try to get some sleep." Jemma told her, denying Skye's request for her own good and draping a blanket over her body. Jemma couldn't look at the rejected look on Skye's face because she knew she would give in and do whatever she asked of her.

"I can't sleep, that's why I've been watching T.V." Skye complained. Jemma took the remote and shut off the television, leaving them in complete darkness.

"Do you promise that you'll say something if I'm hurting you?" Jemma asked.

"Scout's honor." Skye replied humorously. Jemma sighed and lifted up the blanket, gently sliding in next to Skye on the small couch. It was a tight fit, but both girls managed to fall asleep on the couch with their bodies pressed against each other.

* * *

"No! What did I say?" Jemma scolded Skye when she entered the living room the next day to find Skye sitting up on the couch and trying to maneuver herself into a standing position.

"Every time." She barely heard Skye mumble.

"Lie back down." Jemma ordered as she walked closer, guiding Skye by her shoulders.

"But-"

"Nope." Jemma cut her off as she moved Skye's leg back up on top the mountain of pillows.

"I've never been this still for so long in my entire life. I just want to do _something._ Anything." Skye complained.

"Fine." Jemma said. She knew that if she didn't do something to distract Skye she was just going to try to get up as soon as she left the room again, so she leaned over Skye and pressed their lips together.

Skye responded immediately, bringing the arm that wasn't in a sling up and resting her hand on the back of Jemma's neck.

It felt different kissing Skye this time, because the lips she was so familiar with were different. The bottom one was swollen, but Jemma guessed it was a good thing; it reminded her to be gentle.

"Better?" Jemma asked when the kiss was over. Skye simply nodded and looked up at Jemma with love and contentment sparkling in her eyes.


	20. 2- Chapter 8

"Shh, it's ok." Jemma told the pinto. His name was Freedom, as Jemma had named him. Skye had let Jemma have the responsibility of training their stolen horse, and she gladly took it. Jemma felt like she had to train this horse, if she didn't Skye would have gotten hurt for no reason.

Jemma slid the saddle pad over Freedom's back with one hand and distracting him with a long carrot in the other that he was munching on as she fastened tack onto him. Freedom tried to nip her while she tightened the girth, but she scolded him lightly and he let her finish.

"See, that wasn't so bad, was it?" Jemma asked him even though he wasn't going to answer back other than chewing on the carrot.

After struggling with him quite a bit, she managed to get a bridle on him. Because she didn't know how sensitive Freedom was, Jemma used a hackamore, a bridle with a pad that put pressure on the nose instead of a bit that put pressure on his mouth.

When Jemma finally led Freedom out of the barn, he tugged against the reins and Jemma cursed under her breath. A camera flashed and people approached her. Damn, the reporters had found their address. Just seeing articles in the local newspaper was enough to frustrate her, she didn't need these people prying into their lives.

"Are you worried that only one of the men who harassed you and Skye is in custody?" One of them asked.

"Hey, back it up." A blonde parted the group and started pushing the crowd back away from Jemma and Freedom. Jemma took the opportunity to put Freedom back in his stall before he got upset. It was a shame that the reporters had to come and ruin everything, Freedom had been doing so well.

"I don't mean to be rude, but who are you?" Jemma asked the blonde, who had forced the crowd of reporters back.

"Don't worry, Coulson hired me. I suggest you go back inside, I'll meet you inside and explain in a minute." She told Jemma. She nodded, just glad to get away from the cameras, and hurried back into the house. She heard the T.V. in the living room and went to keep Skye company.

"This rodeo accident is suspected to have not been an accident. After interviewing witnesses, the barrel racer's run appeared to have been sabotaged because of the rider's sexual orientation..." The news channel proceeded to show pictures that had been gathered along with the story. Someone had gotten a picture of Jemma and Skye's first encounter with the men along with a very personal picture of the two of them kissing outside of their trailer, probably captured by security cameras, and the cameras trained on the arena to capture videos of the runs depicted one of the men dropping the planted snake.

Jemma recoiled in horror when they warned the audience of graphic content and even showed the video of Skye being dragged across the ground. The nerve of these people disgusted her. She watched as the video version of herself ran towards Skye and she couldn't stand it anymore. She shut off the T.V. and sat on the edge of the couch where there was room.

"You shouldn't watch that." Jemma told her.

"I didn't know my fall had looked that pathetic." Skye said, obviously in shock about seeing that horrific video of her accident.

"It wasn't pathetic from where I stood. I have nightmares about it every night." Jemma told her, taking her hand and kissing her forehead lightly.

"I guess I got lucky in that perspective. I can hardly remember it." Skye told her. It worried Jemma that a bit of time was missing from Skye's memory, but they had tested her at the hospital and her memory was perfectly intact.

"Sorry about that. They're gone now." The blonde girl from earlier called to them as she entered the house. Phil suddenly joined them and they were all in the living room.

"Jemma, Skye, this is Bobbi Morse. I've hired her as a little extra security and help until we're sure the other two men are out of the way." Phil introduced them and explained the woman's purpose on the ranch.

"What about May?" Jemma asked.

"Well, May's got her job. She can't be here all the time." Phil explained to her. Jemma nodded in understanding.

"Nice to meet the both of you. Skye, you look like absolute shit." Bobbi said directly. Jemma got angry for a second, but Skye laughed, which earned Bobbi some bonus points. She hadn't heard Skye's laugh in a while. Bobbi shook both of their hands and sat on the coffee table.

"Hunter is bringing Calypso back today, and your friends Trip and Ward offered to help out with taking care of the ranch until Skye is good as new." Phil told them. Skye perked up hearing Calypso's name, but quickly deflated when she remembered that she couldn't ride him.

"Lance Hunter?" Bobbi asked.

"Yes.." Phil answered, not quite catching the memo. Bobbi groaned and put her hand on her forehead.

"No way." Skye laughed. "You're the demonic ex wife, aren't you?!" Skye asked, probably way too excited for the question she was asking. Bobbi gave her a strange look, but eventually nodded.

"The look on your face was priceless. Someone get a camera ready for when Hunter gets here." Skye joked.

* * *

Jemma finally got her first letter from Fitz, three weeks into summer. They'd been a little out of touch; even Jemma hadn't sent another letter besides the first one.

_Simmons,_

_I apologize for not writing sooner, I've been a little distracted. Believe it or not, I actually met someone. Now I can completely understand your obsession with Skye, because I'm feeling what I think is the same thing. Her name is Ashley. __**(Whoever understood the reference just there, I love you) **__She's both b's: beautiful and brilliant. _

_I hope summer is going as well for you as it is for me..._

Oh, Fitz, he didn't know the half of it. Jemma retrieved her stationary and began to update Fitz on the horrible events of the last week.

_Dear Fitz,_

_I guess this year it's your turn to have a great summer and my turn to have a not-so-great one, at least so far. It may have reached England because it's such a big deal right now, I don't know, but something's happened with Skye. Again. _

Jemma paused her writing and listened carefully when she thought she heard something from the living room. It was late at night, everyone here helping- including Bobbi- had gone home and Jemma thought Skye had been sleeping.

She was alarmed when she heard a large crashing sound and she dropped her pen, running to Skye. Jemma turned on the light and rushed to Skye's side when she saw her on the floor.

She had tried to get up again, most likely, and it didn't end well. Skye was on her hand and knees, practically biting through her lip to contain the cry of pain she probably wanted to yell out.

"Are you ok?" Jemma asked her, wrapping her arm around Skye's waist to help her back up.

"I'm fine." Skye snapped at her, pushing away Jemma's hands. Jemma's heart pounded in her chest and she was hurt that Skye was rejecting her help. Skye took a deep breath and finally noticed the hurt in Jemma's eyes and her sudden silence.

"I can do it myself." Skye muttered, tears in her eyes. She stumbled once while trying to move back onto the couch and Jemma reached out to catch her, but quickly retracted her hand and held it against her chest.

"I'm sorry." Skye whispered, her eyes still watering. Jemma was still standing beside her, unsure of what Skye wanted but also concerned about her sudden shift in attitude. She'd remained her usual quirky self until now. She guessed this was Skye's way of coping and that it had finally sunk in that she wasn't going to be riding- or even walking- any time soon.

"I'm just... really frustrated. I can't even go to the bathroom on my own anymore." Skye admitted. Jemma took the apology and explanation as permission to sit down beside her and wrap her arms around Skye's shoulders gently.

"Is that what this is about? Do you just need to pee?" Jemma asked jokingly. A burst of laughter escaped Skye's throat through her tears and Jemma smiled, glad that she could do something, even something small, to cheer her up.

"I really do have to go to the bathroom." Skye told her after a minute.

"Alright, come on you nut-head." Jemma pulled Skye's good arm over her shoulders and supported Skye's waist with the other, holding on to her tight enough to keep her upright but gentle enough not to hurt her many bruised areas.


	21. 2- Chapter 9

**I'm sorry this chapter is short and probably not very good, but I've just gotten better and caught up on schoolwork. Hopefully I can begin to update chapters regularly. Just hang in there, I'm almost over this writer's block.**

"Morning, Jemma!" Skye greeted her when she came into the kitchen a few mornings later. Jemma noticed that the bruises on Skye's face were fading, so the rest of them probably were too. She was able to get up on her own now, with the help of a crutch, although she couldn't get very far before she would have to sit down.

It was lucky, if you could call it that, that it was her left foot and opposite right arm that were injured, so that she could use her left arm to support herself with the crutch.

"Good morning Jemma. I think Skye's getting better. At least her appetite is." Phil joked, handing Skye her second round of pancakes.

"Good morning." She heard May say from behind a newspaper and cup of tea.

"Everyone is very cheery today." Jemma noticed.

"How far did you get with Freedom?" Skye asked. She looked up at Jemma with curiosity.

"I can ride him." Jemma told her. "But he's still a little jittery when you put pressure on his sides with your legs."

"That's great! And I'm sure he'll get used to it." She replied.

"Do you think you can get out to the barn to see Calypso? You haven't seen him at all since he... you know." Phil suggested to get Skye out and about. Skye didn't need to be asked twice; she let Jemma walk her out to the barn.

Watching Skye struggle to walk was painful for Jemma. It was clearly visible that she had to put a lot of effort into each step.

"Hey buddy!" Skye called to Calypso. The huge smile on Skye's face almost made everything bad disappear. Skye leaned against his stall door and pressed kisses to Calypso's nose, laughing when he sniffed around in her hair and nudged her gently.

"Somebody's happy to see you." Ward showed up behind them.

"Ward!" Skye exclaimed, wrapping her arm around him. Ward hugged her and smiled over her shoulder at Jemma. It was nice seeing Skye all excited and happy like this. Ward and Hunter had been in the barn feeding the horses when they came out. Even Bobbie was there. Her talents weren't needed in the house, so she had mostly been teasing Hunter.

After greeting everyone, Skye went back to babying her horse, talking nonsense to him. It impressed Jemma that Skye wasn't even the least bit afraid of him after what happened, she even wanted to get back on. Jemma knew that look.

"No." Jemma laughed.

"Come on, if you ride with me I'll be fine." Jemma tried her best to resist the puppy dog eyes Skye had, but it wasn't working. Jemma glanced at Ward, Hunter, and Bobbi.

"I won't tell if you don't." Bobbie shrugged and Skye smiled.

"Fine. You're a little brat, you know." Jemma told Skye. She fetched Calypso's bridle and pulled him out of his stall for Skye. Jemma mounted him bareback and held her hand down for Skye, but quickly realized there was no way she could jump up.

Ward, Hunter, and Bobbi all rushed over and helped push Skye up. It almost took a village, but they got Skye on the back of the horse.

It felt weird for Jemma to be the one sitting in the front, usually she was the second rider.

"Just a trail ride, nothing too exciting." Jemma told Skye. Skye slid her arm up and clutched the material of Jemma's shirt at her stomach.

"Anything's exciting with you." It was almost too quiet for Jemma understand, but she heard Skye's whisper behind her.

"Thank you." Skye told her, pressing her lips against the skin just behind Jemma's ear. Jemma blushed and asked Calypso to walk, mostly to get away from their snickering friends.

"Are you sure you're alright back there?" Jemma asked once they reached the grove of trees. She felt Skye's nod against her back and sighed. She was sure Skye missed riding and was more than thrilled to be here with her right now.

"'m fine." Skye told her, but to Jemma that obviously meant Skye was in some kind of pain. Skye never said she was fine, she was always "great!" or "awesome!", but she was never "fine". Jemma stopped Calypso where he was and waited for Skye to tell her what was wrong.

"Skye?" She finally asked. When she still didn't get a reply and Skye's head was still on her shoulder, Jemma twisted her body around in an attempt to look at her. The movement threw Skye off balance and Jemma was horrified to find that Skye was unconscious and now slipping off of the horse.

Jemma turned her body at her waist and wrapped her arms around Skye just before her limp body fell off the horse.

"Shit..." Jemma muttered as she tried to pull Skye back up. Now she wished she had done more of the heavy lifting jobs with Skye last summer so she was more capable of pulling her back up. Eventually, with a lot of pushing forward and scooting backwards, Jemma got into a position where she could cradle Skye in front of her. Calypso noticed Jemma's distress and looked back at them.

"Skye?" Jemma asked, tapping her girlfriend's cheek. She didn't know why Skye would suddenly fall unconscious, she had been doing so well today. The only thing she could think of that would cause this was her concussion, so Jemma pushed Skye's hair off of her injury. She gasped. Skye's head was swollen and the area around her stitches was a dark color. How had she not noticed Skye's infection earlier?

She had to get Skye to a doctor, and soon. She wasn't sure if she could do it, but she pressed her legs into Calypso's side and asked him to move faster, causing them to end up loping back to the house with Jemma clutching Skye's body and trying to stay on.

"Ward! Hunter! Bobby!" Jemma yelled when she neared the barn, hoping one of them was still outside. Ward walked out of the barn with a horse on a lead, but rushed him back into a stall when he saw Skye.

"I'll take her." He held his arms out for Skye and Jemma finally let her go, but only long enough to dismount Calypso. She gave him to Hunter and explained to Ward what happened in a rush.

Ward left Hunter to explain to Phil and took Jemma and Bobby with him and Skye to the hospital. Bobby and Ward sat in the front seats of his truck and Jemma sat with Skye in her arms in the back seat.

"Hey Jemma." Skye finally muttered ten minutes into the silent drive. The nearest hospital was over half an hour away and Ward was trying not to speed on the way.

"Why didn't you say anything sooner?" Jemma scolded her. Ward glared at Jemma through the rear-view mirror as if telling her not to yell at Skye right now.

"My head just hurt, I didn't think..."

"I know, I'm sorry." Jemma apologized, stroking Skye's hair.

After about an hour at the hospital, Skye's head wound was cleaned up and she had antibiotics to take home to clear the infection from her head. The doctor said it wasn't too serious, but to keep a close eye on her.

Unfortunately, any time Skye left the house, reporters were all over her. They wouldn't be getting out of the hospital without having to get Skye through a crowd, and that's why Ward was glad Bobby had tagged along.

She went out and distracted the press for long enough to sneak Skye out the back like Bobby had instructed. Skye's story was being spread like wildfire and every news channel and newspaper wanted to be the first one to get an exclusive from either Jemma or Skye.

"This is going to get annoying." Skye complained when they finally got to Ward's truck without running into any reporters.

"We'll deal with it." Jemma assured her.


	22. 2- Chapter 10

Jemma was sitting on Skye's lap on the couch that had become her bed. Skye hated constantly feeling like the damsel in distress, so if she could do one thing for Jemma, she would. Jemma wasn't about to stop Skye from running her fingers through her hair, even though she could tell sitting on Skye's lap like this put her girlfriend in some kind of pain, because Skye would be more annoyed if she did get up.

Skye was only getting more and more frustrated the longer she couldn't walk. Jemma hated seeing her this way, it was hard for her to deal with as well.

"I need to go to the bathroom." Skye paused the movie they were watching and nudged Jemma to let her know to get off.

"I've got you." Jemma offered, wrapping her arms around Skye's body and trying to help her up without thinking.

"No, I'm fine, I can do it." Skye practically growled. Jemma backed away and watched with tears in her eyes as Skye forced herself onto her feet and towards the bathroom.

Jemma sat down on the couch and dropped her head into her hands, finally letting out the sobs that had been stuck in her throat. She hated that Skye was so frustrated and there was nothing she could do about it. Skye was never one to sit still, but here she was, stuck in the same place for a week now.

"She'll get over it eventually, and when she does, I'm sure she'll come to you." May surprised Jemma and sat down on the couch beside her. Jemma quickly wiped away her tears and May looked at her sympathetically.

"I feel so helpless." Jemma admitted to May, finally looking up at her.

"I would bet that Skye feels exactly the same way. You know her, she's not used to hanging around doing nothing. It probably makes her anxious. I would guess that Skye is only lashing out at you because she's uncomfortable in her own skin and not sure how to express herself." May explained.

May's solution made sense. Jemma imagined how she would feel if she was in the same situation. If she lived for riding and taking care of horses, but having it all taken away in an instant, she would be upset as well. Skye didn't even have the freedom to take a shower without help. The few times they'd managed to Bobby had helped her and Jemma imagined it had been extremely awkward. Skye probably hated her body right now and it wasn't helping that Jemma was smothering her.

"Thanks." Jemma sniffled. May placed one hand on Jemma's shoulder and left it there for a few moments before standing up and walking away quietly.

When Skye stumbled out of the bathroom Jemma had to resist the urge to rush to her aid, especially when a look of pain twisted across her face because she bumped her leg against a piece of furniture and stopped where she was.

"Help, I need help." Skye finally admitted for the first time, holding her breath, clenching her jaw, and clutching her crutch so tightly her knuckles were turning white.

Jemma stood up and quickly supported Skye's weight for her and guided her back to the couch. She sat down next to Skye and tucked her chin onto her shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Jem." Skye sniffled and leaned into Jemma's touch.

"It's ok, I get it." Jemma comforted her. "Hey. I've got something for you." Jemma said, trying to calm Skye. She reached into her pocket and reveled to the other girl what she had been holding.

"You found it." Skye gasped, her tears long forgotten. She reached out and touched the object in Jemma's hand with two fingers.

"Turn around." Jemma told Skye, who did as she was told. Jemma fastened the clasp at the back of Skye's neck after pushing her hair to one side.

Skye pressed her left hand over the metal soda tab hanging in its rightful place above her heart and the tears welling up in her eyes were happy ones.

"I'm going to help you through all of this, Skye. I'm here for you because I love you." Jemma whispered. Skye's breath hitched in her throat and she leaned closer to Jemma, pressing their foreheads together.

"I love you too." Skye uttered the words, struggling to say her words clearly when her lips were so close to Jemma's. "I'm grateful, I want you to know that." Skye whispered. Jemma closed the distance between them and instantly Skye felt like a nuclear bomb had gone off in the room and she pictured everything beautiful in the world.

* * *

It severely upset Jemma that her time with Skye this summer was dwindling and Skye was only just now getting better, two weeks before her return to England for one final year of high school. Jemma just had to make them the best two weeks ever.

Skye was able to walk on her cast now, without the crutch. Her sling was gone and the bruises on her face were no longer visible.

"Do you want to go swimming?" Jemma closed her book so suddenly that Skye jumped on the couch beside her and slowly put down her book. Jemma had finally gotten her reading because this summer she had brought a horse book, _Black Beauty_, but now that they were both reading Jemma was bored with it and wanted to do something more involved with Skye.

Skye was clearly shocked by Jemma's lack of desire to read, but she tried not to let it show on her face.

"I hate to be a bubble-burster, but my cast isn't waterproof." Skye gestured to the injured foot she had propped up on the coffee table. Jemma chuckled at Skye's unusual diction.

"I have an idea." Jemma informed her. Skye smiled. If Jemma had an idea, Skye would be swimming today.

* * *

"Are you settled?" Jemma patted Skye's leg from the ground as she sat on Calypso. Although Skye's cast was too big to wear a shoe, it fit in the large western stirrup, so Skye could finally ride.

"Yup. I'm great." Skye beamed. When Jemma was finally positive that Skye wasn't lying to her, she mounted Sunshine and the two took off towards the lake. It wasn't even worth trying to slow Skye down; her ribs were healed enough that she could stay on the galloping horse, so nothing was going to stop her. The only thing Jemma feared about this was that Skye would want to go back on the circuit. She wasn't ready to let Skye into a stadium again, not just yet.

"So, what is your genius plan that will make my cast waterproof?" Skye asked when they had finally gotten to the lake and had sat together under their favorite tree for a while.

"Just because I like science doesn't mean everything I do is a complicated procedure." Jemma informed Skye, reaching into the saddle bag for the two items she brought for her solution.

"You have unappreciated genius." Skye told a smiling Jemma when she realized Jemma's idea.

Jemma sat down next to Skye's outstretched let with the plastic wrap and purple duct tape she had retrieved. Skye picked up the roll of tape as Jemma wrapped up Skye's foot in the plastic like leftovers. Skye ripped pieces of duct tape off the roll and handed them one by one to Jemma, who taped down all the edges, making sure no water could get in.

Soon Skye's leg was a water tight, purple striped chaos of shiny plastic wrap.

"Perfect!" Skye exclaimed, jumping to her feet. But Skye's face quickly turned a deep shade of red as she realized she still had one more problem.

"Uh, Jemma?" Skye called out, stopping her after the other girl had removed her shirt, leaving her in a tank-top with a low cut. Skye swallowed a lump in her throat and didn't know how to voice her embarrassing problem. It was already hard enough, but with the layers of plastic over her cast, it would be nearly impossible to get her own jeans off. Jemma, being the observing person she was, quickly identified the problem.

"I can help." Jemma told her. It started out innocently as Jemma reached for Skye, but she found herself placing her hands on Skye's hips and pulling her into a sweet, slow kiss. Skye quickly forgot about her problem and was even a little grateful for it when Jemma's fingers glided to the button of Skye's jeans. Their lips only parted for a brief moment in order to take a breath before Jemma unbuttoned Skye's pants and slowly pulled down the zipper.

Both girls knew where the situation was headed, but neither girl had the power to stop it and they didn't want to.

Jemma slowly slid Skye's jeans down over her hips while Skye's fingers wandered curiously under Jemma's tank top and explored the soft skin of her stomach.

"Skye... are you ok?" Jemma asked tentatively when they had to part and sit down so that Jemma could awkwardly maneuver Skye's pants leg over her cast.

"I'm ok. Are you ok?" Skye asked nervously. Jemma finally freed Skye's leg and tossed her jeans to the side.

"I'm ok." Jemma answered, crawling towards Skye. Skye fell onto her back and Jemma followed her. Their lips were locked and Skye pressed her hands against Jemma's cheeks. Jemma brushed Skye's hair out of her face. She shivered and had to lift herself a few inches off of Skye when she felt her unbutton her pants.

Jemma unclasped one button at a time on Skye's shirt and slowly pushed it over her shoulders, exposing her tan torso and simple black bra. Jemma tried not to take notice of the faded bruises on Skye's rib cage, but she couldn't help but lighten her insisting touch.

Jemma got up for just long enough to remove her jeans and tank top and for Skye to pull her arms out of her sleeves.

The energy about them changed at that moment. When Jemma laid back down on top of Skye they were back to being slow and gentle as they kissed instead of the angsty little love fest they had almost had.

With both of them lying in only their undergarments in the grass on Skye's shirt, Jemma knew they had reached the limit of how far they were willing to go comfortably because Skye was slowly becoming more and more tense beneath her. They both had a moment to think about what they were about to do and neither of them was sure of themselves.

Skye finally turned her head to the side and Jemma understood that the wonderful yet terrifying moment was over.

"Jemma, I... I'm not ready." Skye whispered. The tone of Skye's voice upset Jemma to no ends. It was shaky and it sounded like Skye was ashamed of herself, or worried that Jemma would be ashamed of her just because she didn't want to put out.

"I'm not ready either." Jemma admitted. After they had slowed down and the heat between them wasn't so intense, doubt began to fill Jemma's mind. She was terrified to have sex for the first time, especially if it was with a girl. It wasn't Skye, or that she was beginning to question what she thought was her sexuality, but she had realized after their clothes had come off that she didn't know exactly what two girls... did... in bed.

Skye's horrified expression left her face and was flooded with relief. Jemma wondered if Skye had the same fears she did, or if there was another reason Skye seemed so afraid of intimacy. Maybe she didn't want to seal the deal and get attached? Jemma had no way of knowing with Skye.

Jemma collapsed and rolled off of Skye so that they were lying side by side, curled up against each other. Everywhere their bodies touched they could feel their skin tingling, but they knew it wasn't time yet.

Jemma played with the metal necklace still around Skye's neck for a few minutes before either of them said anything.

It was disturbing to Jemma the way Skye was with her, but not present in her own eyes. She was scared that she'd done something wrong, something that made Skye feel weird. She didn't know how to solve the problem other than bring their situation back to a normal one.

"We came here to go swimming. Let's do that. Let's go swimming, love." Jemma suggested, pressing a kiss to Skye's forehead. Slowly, Jemma noticed Skye's unusual facial expression fade away and the girl she knew returned to the surface. Skye smiled and removed her necklace so they could jump into the lake.


	23. 2- Chapter 11

**I know this chapter isn't very happy, but if it makes you feel any better, it kind of hurt to write it. It was a necessary evil though, I'm trying to portray a real relationship, and no relationship never has a fight. This is leading into the plot of the next section of the story. There will probably be one more chapter of The Second Summer before I dive into the next piece. Thanks for supporting me!**

Jemma sighed and leaned further back against Skye's stomach. They had spent hours in the lake before drying off, getting dressed, and sitting down under their forked tree. It had taken a while, but they'd gotten over the awkward feeling between them and were back to normal.

But maybe it wasn't normal. It may have just been Jemma, but it felt to her like they were even more intimate with each other than before. Well, there they were, with Jemma sitting between Skye's legs and leaning into Skye's front.

The sound of Skye's voice shook Jemma from her near-sleep and woke her. She had to ask Skye to repeat herself before she could understand anything.

"You're coming back next summer, aren't you?" Skye asked nervously.

"Of course." Jemma retorted, pulling a strand of Skye's long hair over her shoulder and twisting it around her finger. "Why wouldn't I?" Jemma could feel Skye shift behind her and leaned forward so Skye could move herself to a more comfortable position against the tree trunk.

"I don't know. Next summer you'll have already graduated high school." Skye said.

"And what would that have to do with anything?" Jemma asked. She wondered what Skye could possibly be thinking right now. Was Skye thinking that Jemma was just going to abandon her after she graduated like she had grown out of it or something?

"You have big plans." Skye whispered quietly. So that was what this was about. Skye was terrified that Jemma's career plans meant more to her. Jemma placed her hand over the pair clasped against her stomach.

"Plans that involve college, which has nothing to do with summer." Jemma said urgently, making sure Skye knew summers were reserved for her and her alone.

"Is that going to be enough?" Skye asked. Jemma pulled out of Skye's arms so that she could turn around and face her. She clenched her jaw and hoped this wasn't going in the direction she thought it was. She tried to swallow, but her mouth was dry and she couldn't force it past the lump in her throat.

Jemma nodded furiously, not being able to speak but not wanting Skye to get the wrong idea.

"You're wildly beautiful Jemma, someone at college is going to..."

"No. Stop it." Jemma shook her head and pinned Skye to the tree by her shoulders, startling both of them.

"Only you, Skye, only you. If you're about to say what I think you're about to say, don't. There won't ever be anyone else. I'll drop out of school and stay here if that's what it takes to show you that this isn't just a summer love to me." Jemma said, forcefully clutching Skye's shoulders. Skye's eyes were wide and she looked at Jemma in shock and disbelief. Jemma finally thought she had gotten through to her until the dark look in Skye's eyes returned.

"See, I'm no good for you. You're throwing everything away." Skye wiped away a few tears and pulled herself away from Jemma. They were now sitting at least four feet from each other, probably farther apart than they'd been for over a day. "I don't want you to forget all of your goals-"

"No, I won't-"

"Jemma! Don't you see what I'm doing to you?! You're forgetting everything! You wanted to be a biologist, remember?" Skye cried out.

"Two years ago when I pictured my life that's exactly what I saw, but now I wouldn't want that if you weren't in that picture somewhere." Jemma argued, scooting a little closer to Skye. Her lip only quivered and when she didn't take back what she'd said, she began to get angry.

"Damn you and your low self esteem." Jemma said quietly, regretting it immediately and looking down at the grass so she wouldn't have to see Skye look like a kicked puppy. She finally dared to look up at Skye when she didn't respond or even move.

Skye was hugging herself tightly, staring at Jemma with a look she couldn't understand. If there was any chance Jemma could fix what she'd just said, she had to try.

"How can you doubt yourself so much that you're not one hundred percent sure I'm in love with you?" Jemma asked her. When she still didn't seem to get it, Jemma knew she had to go on. "Do you not know what 'I love you' means? It means that you're more important than _anything _else. I'm not going to toss you aside for something that couldn't possibly make me as happy as you do. 'I love you' means that I am not going to listen to you, no matter what you say, when you tell me that you think you are bad for me." Jemma ranted, never pausing to take a breath. "And God, Skye, think about yourself for once! This isn't a relationship where you just hang around and wait for me to be available! You get a say, Skye! You don't have to give everything up so easily, you have to fight for what you want. I know it's hard and I don't know what to do either, but we have to sit down and talk about this, you can't just call it all off!" Jemma finally finished, huffing.

She calmed down when Skye burst into tears and put a hand over her face. She felt bad for making Skye cry, but it was something that had to be said. She couldn't let Skye go on thinking that she was just a pawn for other people her entire life.

"We're going to work, you'll see." Jemma comforted her from a distance, not knowing if Skye wanted her to get close.

"No one's ever... No one's ever..." Skye stuttered. Jemma hadn't really thought about it when she was saying it, but she realized what she said really hit home. No one had ever asked Skye what she wanted, ever. All her life Skye had been following the people around her like the cows she herded. To Skye, it was just expected of her to let Jemma go on with her life and leave her behind, like everyone she'd ever thought she loved.

"I am. I'm asking you what you want, Skye." Jemma said quietly. Skye looked up at her with hope in her eyes, but it only lasted a moment.

"I couldn't ask you to not go to college, Jemma. You're meant to do big things, I know it." Skye told her. Jemma's heart sank to her stomach. She still couldn't get Skye to just be selfish, not even the littlest bit. Honestly, she wanted Skye to demand her to stay forever and never go back to England. Jemma's heart had unknowingly decided that being a biologist wasn't the most important thing, and that she didn't even want it if it meant she couldn't have Skye forever. A slow idea started forming in her head, but she shooed it away. It wasn't going to work.

"Will you come back next summer?" Skye asked quietly. Jemma choked a little and rushed to Skye, pulling her into a tight hug.

"Of course I will. I'll always come back." Jemma promised.


	24. 2- Chapter 12

**Before you read this chapter, which I finally finished, you HAVE to go watch the promo for the midseason premier! I'm so excited! It's on youtube, look it up! Poor Skye, though. D: **

**Well anyway, enjoy the last chapter of The Second Summer! The third installment of the series will be posted on this story soon, so keep your eyes peeled! **

Jemma flicked her pen back and forth between her fingers as she tried to decide what to say in her first letter back to Skye. She was only two hours into her nine hour flight and already she was impatient to get out of the crowded plane.

_Dear Skye,_

_I know we were still fighting at the end of summer, but I promise everything is going to work out._

No, that wouldn't work. Jemma crumpled up the paper and stuffed it into the seat pocket in front of her along with all of her other failed attempts.

_Dear Skye,_

_I want to be a biologist, but I want to be with you more. I want to be as happy with you as Phil and May were after their wedding._

Jemma smashed the paper into a ball and leaned back in her seat, pressing her palm to her forehead and turning on the air above her. Her skin was hot and sticky and she wanted nothing more than to shove the two people that were trapping her in her window seat. She hated the window seat because it was such a pain to get up and go to the bathroom and it felt like being trapped in a cage, because two inches to your left was a wall and two inches to your right was a person.

It was just Jemma's luck that the person in front of her leaned his seat back all the way, closing her in on all sides.

_Dear Skye,_

The plane entered a small bit of turbulence and as Jemma was fiddling with her pen, it slipped out of her fingers and rolled away under the seats. Jemma groaned audibly and put her face in her hands, earning her glares from everyone near her.

A little poke to Jemma's shoulder caught her attention and she looked to her right. The young man next to her was offering her a pen with a small smile on his face.

"Thanks." Jemma breathed, taking the pen.

"Are you a nervous flier?" He asked. It was clear by his obvious English accent that he was returning home as well.

"No, I've made the round trip before." Jemma told him, not sure why he was talking to her.

"It must be the letter, then." He smiled, gesturing towards the nearly blank stationary on the tiny tray table in front of her.

"You have no idea." Jemma sighed.

"Maybe I can help. I'm a writer." He said, beginning to introduce himself. "Jacob Harrison." He offered his hand to shake, but it was at an awkward angle because of their proximity. Jemma extended her own hand and accepted his hand shake, but all she could think of was the first time she had met Skye.

"Jemma Simmons." She said. Jemma was beginning to wonder if this man was hitting on her and began to think of ways to make it clear to him that she wasn't interested.

"What seems to be the problem?" He asked, peeking at her stationary and reading the name the letter was addressed to.

"My girlfriend and I are fighting." Jemma blurted out, instantly feeling guilty. She hadn't even told Phil that she and Skye weren't on good terms, although he could probably tell. Jacob looked startled for a minute and Jemma waited to gauge his reaction. Jacob noticed her suspicious look and pushed his hand up into his curly red hair.

"Hey, no judgments. My husband and I didn't always get along well." He said with a smile. The man sitting next to Jacob introduced himself as his husband before going back to the movie playing on his laptop. Jemma couldn't help but laugh, she'd been seated next the people who were probably the only other homosexuals on the plane. "I probably can't help you, I don't understand girls at all." He joked.

"You do look to be about the age, though." He observed.

"What age?" Jemma asked curiously.

"The age where you have to decide if you want a long distance relationship so you can go to school." He informed her. The irony of the statement was not lost on Jemma, she'd been going to school and having a long distance relationship with Skye for a year.

"I already do." Jemma chuckled. "She lives in America and I live in England." Jacob made a low whistling sound and his eyes were sympathetic.

"That's rough." He told her. They sat silently for a minute before Jacob decided he was going to help this Jemma Simmons.

"What do you want to do after graduating?" He asked her. Before he got his book published, Jacob had been a high school counselor. Having Jemma Simmons sit next to him on this plane was like god sending him a girl he could help.

"I want to do something in the field of biology, but I also want to be with her. She lives in a rural area and it would be wrong to take her from her small town life and throw her into a city." Jemma explained.

"Is there anything you can do in biology that you can do in that rural area?" He asked her. A sudden revelation hit Jemma like a moving freight train and Jacob knew he'd helped when he saw the spark in her eye.

Jemma remembered the first summer she had been on the ranch. Sure, the fire sucked, but if it hadn't happened, Jemma might not have been able to come up with the idea that was slowly growing in her head.

A veterinarian had come from the next town over after the fire to perform check-ups for all of the horses involved. That was biology. Veterinarians were doctors. If the vet that was in that next town over had somehow gotten his degree nearby, Jemma would be able to do it to.

The ideas quickly flowed through Jemma's brain and she grew more excited by the second. She could surprise Skye, she could graduate high school and move to America. She was going to move to the United States! Surely Jemma could get accepted into any number of nearby schools that could certify her as a vet. She could propose to Skye, move in with her, and become a vet for the town she lived in! Jemma could already see the rest of her life with Skye and she couldn't wait another year to finish high school.

"Thank you, thank you so much!" Jemma squealed, kissing Jacob on the cheek and hugging him. Jemma jumped away in horror a moment later when she realized what she'd done, but Jacob and his husband just laughed.

_Dear Skye,_

_I think I've decided what I want to do for college. I haven't planned it all out yet, so I'm going to hold off explaining it all, but I want you to know that I'm finding a way for us to work. I'm sorry we fought, that last week of summer was the worst of my life and I never want us to argue again._


	25. Spring Break

**I apologize if anything about England is completely wrong, I've never lived in England like I have with the setting of Wildwood Ranch. Also, I have no idea what Jemma's parent's names are, so I'm making them up...**

**I don't know if you've noticed, but the last two sections of the story have been mostly from Jemma's POV, even though it's in third person. I'm going to try throwing in more of Skye's thoughts.**

Skye was terrified. She did not like how big the Atlantic Ocean was and how high above it the plane was flying. She'd never flown in a plane before, so the nine hour flight over mostly ocean was a bit too much for her to handle. An hour in she'd had to crawl over the person beside her to get into the isle so she could run to the bathroom and vomit. The whole thing was a very stressful experience for her.

Skye decided she hated airplanes. She sat in the bathroom for as long as was acceptable until someone knocked and asked her to hurry up. She returned to her seat and tried to settle in, but she couldn't stop fiddling with her necklace and tapping her foot on the ground. The hours left of the flight were hardly bearable and the only reason Skye made it through was because she wouldn't have been allowed to jump out of the plane if she wanted to. She told herself the whole way that it would all be worth it when she could see the look on Jemma's face when Skye showed up at her school. Phil, Skye, and Jemma's parents had planned a surprise visit starting a few days before Jemma's spring break.

Skye's flight had left at eleven at night on her time schedule and because of the time difference, she landed at two pm in England. It was just enough time for her to find a cab, drop off her stuff at Jemma's parent's house, and get to her school before she was dismissed.

All of this was easier said than done, though, because as soon as Skye stepped out of the airport, a gust of London air hit her face and Skye almost had to cover her ears because of how loud the traffic was. Her jaw dropped. She'd never seen so many buildings and people in one place at the same time. Several people gave Skye sideways glances because of her appearance, but she didn't notice.

Skye wasn't exactly sure how to get a taxi, but eventually she had the attention of one of the yellow cars and slid into the back seat. She gave the driver Jemma's address and spent the whole ride with her face practically pressed up against the window, taking in all the sights. She stared in awe at the massive cathedral-like buildings and the many other tall structures. What amused her the most were the funny looking double-decker busses.

Jemma's house wasn't deep in the middle of the city, but it definitely wasn't like what Skye was used to. She got out of the cab and paid the driver, almost forgetting to grab her things. She checked to make sure she was at the right house before sauntering up to the doorstep. Before she could even knock, a woman threw open the door, leaving Skye's fist hanging in the air.

"You must be Skye!" The woman exclaimed, pulling the shocked teenage girl into a bear hug.

"Now, Elena, let the girl breathe." A man Skye assumed to be Jemma's father appeared in the doorway and told his wife gently. Jemma's mother complied, releasing Skye and smiling warmly at her.

"Jemma talks of nothing but you, it's good to finally meet you." Jemma's father told Skye, shaking hands with her.

"I'm sure you're hungry, dear, why don't you come inside and get something to eat?" Jemma's mother offered. Skye was still struck mute, she just didn't know what to say, so she offered a nervous smile instead. Elena ushered Skye into their living room, took her bag, and returned with a plate of cookies and some tea.

"Thanks." Skye finally mumbled, sitting down on the couch rigidly and eating what was probably the weirdest cookie she'd ever had out of politeness. It was dry and hardly had any flavor.

Elena and her husband sat on the couch on the opposite side of the coffee table and looked at her quite strangely. Crap. Skye quickly realized that she was supposed to eat the cookie things with the tea and slowly took a sip, trying not to gag on the liquid. She was definitely more of a coffee person. She smiled anyway and took a few more sips before putting the cup down and neglecting it.

"Thank you so much for allowing me to visit." Skye said politely, squeezing her hands between her knees in her lap. She had no idea how to talk to these people.

"It's no trouble at all! Fredrick and I were wondering when we were going to be able to meet you anyway." Elena joked.

"We were about to hop on the next plane with Jemma!" Jemma's father, whose name was apparently Fredrick, exclaimed. Skye gave the best fake laugh she could, and thankfully it looked like her girlfriend's parents bought it.

"Well, Jemma should be getting out of school soon, you should hurry if you want to be there when she leaves school." Fredrick said.

"We would take you, but it's walking distance and we're sure you want to see Jemma alone." Elena said with a knowing smile. Skye just nodded and jumped off the couch as soon as Jemma's parents began to show her to the door and pointed her in the right direction. Skye began to walk, but she looked more like a wandering puppy.

* * *

"Simmons, I can't believe you!" Fitz exclaimed. Jemma had just told him about her plans to become a vet, and Fitz clearly didn't think it was a good idea.

"You could get into any university you want, but you choose a tiny college in the middle of nowhere?" Ashley put in. Jemma rolled her eyes. While Fitz loved the annoying blonde, Jemma hated her and only tried to get along with her for Fitz's sake. She'd been feeling like the third wheel all of senior year.

"Yes, because I want to be with Skye." Jemma explained for the millionth time. Ashley and Fitz both applied to all the same schools and would probably get into them, so they just didn't understand the whole separation thing.

"Yes, we know, everything's for _Skye._" Fitz said dramatically. Jemma clutched her books closer to her chest while they were walking towards the front exit of the school, but she quickly stopped in her tracks and turned to face him.

"What is that supposed to mean?" She asked him angrily. Fitz removed his arm from its place draped over Ashley's shoulders.

"It means that she's obviously not good enough for you if she's holding you back like this." He told her. Jemma's blood began to boil. She immediately thought back to her argument with Skye, and she remembered the tears in her eyes when Skye believed those exact words. Jemma shook her head silently and turned away, walking out of the building and leaving the newly cruel Fitz behind.

She stared at the ground and didn't look up until she roughly crashed into someone, spilling her books all over the pavement.

"For a minute there I thought you were going to walk right past me." A familiar voice stated as Jemma apologized and knelt on the ground to gather her books. Jemma slowly tilted her face up and it felt like a nuclear bomb had gone off when she realized that Skye was standing above her in all her western glory.

"Skye!" She screeched, jumping to her feet and wrapping her arms so tightly around Skye's neck that she was almost positive she would have to release her in a moment so she didn't choke her girlfriend to death. Skye wrapped her arms around Jemma's waist and laughed, lifting her off the ground a few inches. Jemma removed her head from Skye's shoulder and pressed their lips together.

"How... what... Skye?" Jemma started stuttering when Skye put her down. Skye laughed and brushed Jemma's hair out of her face.

"I got a break in barrel racing for a while, and since you happened to be having a break as well..." Skye trailed off, pressing another light kiss to Jemma's lips.

"Where are you in the charts?" Jemma asked excitedly. She'd forgotten to check recently, but over the school year Skye had become quite the barrel racer, quickly climbing the national ranks. Jemma had been receiving letters from all over the United States as Skye traveled on the circuit.

"Third in the US." Skye beamed proudly.

"That's amazing!" Jemma told her. Jemma's schoolmates had finally begun to notice what was going on, and most of them were pointing and snickering. Although it made Jemma nervous and slightly annoyed, Skye didn't notice and probably wouldn't have cared if she had.

"Is this... Skye?" A hesitant voice asked. Skye finally peeled her eyes off of Jemma for just long enough to spot a curly haired boy and a blonde girl the exact same height.

"Yes." Jemma said, glaring at him.

"You must be Fitz!" Skye said enthusiastically, not even noticing Jemma's annoyance. "Jemma's talked about you quite a bit." She said, shaking his hand.

"I'm Ashley." Fitz's girlfriend introduced herself, shaking Skye's hand as well.

"Well, Jemma and I better get going before her parents come looking for me." Skye joked.

"They didn't smother you, did they?" Jemma asked in horror. Skye held up her thumb and pointer finger slightly apart from each other. _Yes, a little bit, _the sign told her. Fitz and Ashley stared at Skye in complete bewilderment and shot Jemma apologetic looks that she completely ignored as she led Skye by the elbow.


	26. 3- Chapter 2

**I actually got a chapter done during the week! (I wrote most of this in math. Oops.)**

"Let me get that." Skye offered, taking the books from Jemma's arms so that Jemma only had to carry her backpack without the additional overflow of books. Jemma couldn't help but grin at the way Skye's head was turning back and forth, looking at every little thing like it was the most amazing thing in the world. Skye noticed a whole lot more on the way back to Jemma's house now that she was being led and not trying to find her way.

"I still can't believe you're here." Jemma said excitedly, clinging to Skye's elbow and pressing their sides together. She hadn't known she would be getting any real contact with Skye until summer, so she was taking advantage of it.

"Me either, I didn't think I was going to survive the flight." Skye said sarcastically. Jemma laughed, she couldn't even imagine the horror show of Skye trying to sit in a crowded plane for nine hours. Jemma motioned for Skye to stop when the passed a newspaper stand. Skye watched with interest as Jemma handed the little old man some money, picked up a paper, and told him to have a good afternoon.

"I didn't know you read the paper." Skye observed.

"I don't, but selling papers is the only income that man has." Jemma explained, recycling the newspaper once they'd gone around a corner.

"Aw, my girlfriend is such a good person." Skye said lovingly, pressing a kiss to the corner of Jemma's mouth. Jemma's cheeks turned pink and she turned her head away when Skye leaned in for a real kiss.

"Not in public, Skye." Jemma told her, even pulling her hand away from Skye's when Skye reached for it.

"Why? We have before." Skye asked, confusion and a little bit of hurt expressed on her face. Jemma felt bad for reprimanding Skye like that, it wasn't Skye's fault that her perception of "in public" was much different than walking around the busy streets of a city. Skye's neighbors had been surprisingly accepting because of their small community, but the people of her city were much more judgmental and like the men that had harassed them, except not as direct. Jemma still noticed the dirty looks people were throwing at them when Skye tried to kiss her and the way some parents shielded them from their children's view, as if seeing two girls kiss would spread the gay germs.

"Just because." Jemma answered her. Skye looked like a sad little puppy until Jemma cheered her up. They passed a flower vendor and Jemma bought a rose, offering to Skye with a smile on her face.

"Does he make a living off of his stand as well?" Skye asked.

"No, I wanted to give you the rose." Jemma smiled sweetly and was grateful that Skye corrected her own behavior just as she was about to try and kiss Jemma again. When Skye had accepted the flower, Jemma looked around to see if anyone had glared at them, but noticed that funny looks were being directed at Skye, and Skye alone. It was probably because Skye was still wearing her riding boots, cowboy hat, and her flannel and jeans. It was clear exactly what type of place she came from.

"Helloooo, Jemma, are you in there?" Jemma was ripped from her thoughts when Skye's hand waved in front of her face.

"Yes, of course." Jemma smiled at Skye. Skye knew there was something wrong about the way Jemma was acting, but she wasn't quite sure what it was and didn't think her girlfriend would explain if she asked. It bothered her that Jemma was looking at her like she was some kind of innocent animal, or at least an ignorant country girl. Jemma was treating her like a pet, and Skye already didn't like it.

* * *

"Jemma, dear, you and Skye can go upstairs until supper if you like." Elena offered once they had finally arrived at her house. Quite honestly, Skye was intimidated because of how nice the house was, with its high ceilings and arched doorways, and she couldn't wait to just be alone in a room with Jemma. Elena smiled knowingly at the two girls. Jemma told her mother everything, especially when it came to her feelings about Skye, so Elena already knew that Skye would eventually be her daughter-in-law. She was glad Jemma picked such a nice, polite girl, even though she was going to miss her daughter when she moved to the United States in two months when school ended.

When Jemma led Skye into her room and closed the door, it was like a weight had been lifted off of Skye's chest and she could see Jemma visibly relax and leave behind her nervous state as she dumped her backpack onto her desk chair. Skye put Jemma's books on the desktop and didn't even wait long enough to take a lot at Jemma's room before attacking her, pushing Jemma up against the back of the door and kissing her. Jemma gasped in shock, but quickly got over it and ran her hands across the distance from Skye's face all the way down to her hips. Jemma's lips were sweet and soft against Skye's and Skye recognized the taste of Jemma's favorite strawberry chapstick.

"Woah." Jemma whispered when they parted.

"You shouldn't make me wait like that." Skye smiled mischievously and brushed a strand of hair that had escaped Jemma's ponytail out of her face.

"Maybe I should, that was amazing." Jemma teased. They gave each other one last quick kiss before settling down on Jemma's bed, facing each other and sitting with their legs crossed. Skye finally took a moment to look around Jemma's room. Somehow, it was exactly what Skye had expected. Naturally, there were books lining multiple bookshelves that were against the light brown walls. The room was perfectly tidy, there hadn't even been a wrinkle in the pastel pink blanket on the bed before they had sat down on it. The desk that Jemma probably spent hours at after school each day was positioned next to the bed.

"Do you like it?" Jemma asked, aware that Skye was looking.

"I love it. It's you." Skye smiled. "Oh my gosh! I almost forgot!" Skye suddenly exclaimed, jumping to her feet. Jemma raised her eyebrows in question and waited for Skye to explain her outburst.

"I have no idea where my stuff is..." Skye realized when she wanted to retrieve something from her backpack.

"Mum probably put it in the guest room." Jemma guessed, pulling Skye out into the hall and leading her into the grey room across the hall from hers.

As predicted, Skye's backpack was at the foot of the bed. Skye dug into it, pulled out a copy of _To Kill a Mockingbird_, and held out the book.

"This was that book you left at my house that first summer." Skye smiled cheekily and handed her the book.

"Oh, you mean the one you stole? I was wondering if I was ever going to get that back." She said, accepting it. "Did you read it?" Jemma asked, obviously holding false hope.

"Yes." Skye said with a grin on her face.

"Really?" Jemma asked in disbelief. Skye gave her a look that asked, 'is it really too hard to believe?'.

"You do know it's not about a mockingbird, right?" Jemma asked incredulously, testing to see if Skye had actually read the classic novel.

"Of course not. It's about mockingbird people." Jemma smiled and watched as Skye went on her first literary rant. It was kind of like seeing a cat in water- strange, but also interesting and amusing.

"The mockingbird represents people like Tom Robinson, who are completely innocent. It's a sin to kill a mockingbird because all they do is sing and it's a sin to hurt a mockingbird person because everything they do is kind. Both mockingbirds and mockingbird people are completely defenseless and the book is pointing out how wrong it is to hurt people like that." Skye ranted, making exaggerate hand signals. Jemma beamed at her girlfriend and the concentrated look on Skye's face faded away.

"I'm so proud of you." Jemma said. She hardly got the sentence out before Skye smacked her with a pillow.

"I'm not illiterate, you know!" She shouted jokingly, grabbing for another pillow as Jemma stole hers and started hitting her with it. They both squealed and giggled as they attacked each other. Skye had the upper hand when it came to all things physical, so she eventually ended up tackling Jemma onto the bed and laying above her.

"I know you're not illiterate." Jemma said seriously. Skye smiled because she got Jemma to admit that Skye wasn't a complete idiot. "But I didn't know you knew the word illiterate." Jemma added jokingly. Skye flicked her in the nose playfully. Jemma whined that her arms were pinned at her sides and Skye finally released her.

"So I guess you liked it." Jemma said.

"I think I really liked it because I used to be a mockingbird person." Skye said softly. That was probably the sole reason she liked the book, she could relate her childhood to the description of what she deemed to be a mockingbird person. She was defenseless and didn't do anything to hurt anyone, but she still got kicked around.

Jemma gave Skye a soft smile and rubbed the side of Skye's arm comfortingly. It looked like Skye was about to say something serious until they were interrupted.

"Girls, supper!" Jemma's dad could be heard shouting for them to come downstairs.


	27. 3- Chapter 3

"I'm a vegetarian." Skye blurted out just as Jemma's mother placed a large plate of meatloaf in front of her. Jemma's parents looked startled for a second and Jemma kicked Skye's leg under the table.

"I'm kidding." Skye said, glancing at Jemma with a smirk on her face. Elena looked extremely relieved and Fredrick burst out laughing.

"Jemma, she's funny!" Fredrick told Jemma, as if she didn't already know.

"Yeah, _funny._" Jemma said, rolling her eyes. "Don't worry, mum, Skye eats _everything_." Jemma said, getting back at her. Skye stuck her tongue out at Jemma and Jemma's parents exchanged smiles. They both knew how utterly in love the two girls were as they dug in.

"So, Skye, what do you do?" Fredrick asked once they'd started eating. "I know you dropped out of school, so what exactly is it that you do?" He asked.

"Dad!" Jemma exclaimed, covering her face with her hand and shrinking in her seat.

"I'm not judging, Jemma, I'm just curious about your s- girlfriend." Fredrick corrected himself. Both Jemma and Elena glared at him, he'd almost said _soon-to-be-fiance_. Jemma could only imagine how annoying it would be if Skye found out from Jemma's father that she was planning on proposing. Luckily, Skye had been too engrossed in her food to notice that the slipup had any significance.

"It's ok, Jemma." Skye laughed at the embarrassed look on Jemma's face. Skye kind of liked the normality of it all: the family dinner at the table and the classic interrogation of the daughter's partner. Skye directed her attention back to Jemma's parents so she could answer all their questions and pass with flying colors. This was the first test she'd ever cared about.

"My main job used to be horse training, but recently I've become a professional barrel racer, and it makes enough that horse training is just a hobby now." Skye explained, trying to make running around with big animals sound as professional as possible.

"Barrel racing?" Elena's mother questioned.

"Yes, Mum, you watched a national competition that Skye competed in on the T.V." Jemma reminded her.

"Oh, yes, that. You did very well, Skye. It took me a moment to remember the specific event, Jemma has been showing me videos of everything equestrian since she got back last summer." Her mother smiled. Skye looked at Jemma with raised eyebrows and Jemma wanted to disappear. Her parents seemed to like Skye a little too much. She just hoped her parents weren't going to pull out the photo album.

"Are you still living with Phil?" Elena asked. Skye nodded and smiled.

"I love living with him. Best man I've ever met." Skye said casually, taking another bite. Elena smiled at how Skye ate. Jemma was a picky eater, so she appreciated how much Skye seemed to like her cooking.

The conversation died for a few minutes until Skye decided to start asking questions. Those questions were about Jemma, and eventually, much to Jemma's horror and Skye's excitement, the four of them ended up in the living room watching home videos and Jemma hid her face under Skye's arm when the screen showed a particularly embarrassing video of her and Fitz taking a bath together when they were three.

The next video that appeared on the screen caught everyone's attention. Jemma was eating lunch on what appeared to be a normal day, but her dad was asking her questions.

_"Jemma, what do you think about kissing?" He asked her from behind the camera. Jemma's nose scrunched up and she dropped the carrot she was holding back onto her plate._

_"On the lips?" She asked_

_"Yes." Fredrick said, laughing._

_"That's gross!" Jemma exclaimed. "It's germy!" _

_"Are you ever going to kiss anyone?" Fredrick continued to torture her._

_"No!" Jemma said defiantly. _

_"What will you give me if you change your mind?" He asked._

_"What do you mean?" Jemma was confused, but chewing on her carrot, having already lost interest in the subject her father chose to discuss._

_"What will you owe me if you ever kiss a boy?" He asked._

_"Nothing." Jemma said, clearly annoyed that he wouldn't pick a different mealtime topic._

_"But you said you didn't like kissing, so even if you do owe me something, it won't matter, right?" He asked._

Skye was dying on the inside, watching such a hilarious video of tiny Jemma. Fredrick was clearly trying to get video evidence that he could use against her when she started puberty.

_"Ok. I'll give you $20 if I do." Jemma finally agreed._

_"Alright. This is on video, so it's a promise. If you ever kiss a boy you owe me twenty dollars." Fredrick confirmed. Jemma nodded and went back to eating._

Elena paused the video on the T.V. and everyone stared at Jemma silently for a second before laughing.

"Is that why you picked me, Jemma, because it was a loophole and it would save you twenty bucks?" Skye asked, sending Jemma's parents into another fit of laughter. Jemma's cheeks couldn't get any redder and she pulled away from Skye's embrace on the couch and stood up.

"Yeah, sure, laugh all you want!" Jemma complained, but she was smiling. "I have homework to do, but please, Skye, enjoy." Jemma curtseyed and rushed off to her room to avoid further embarrassment.

* * *

"Jemma, don't laugh." Skye poked her head into Jemma's room after they had both supposed to have gotten ready for bed.

"What is it, Skye?" Jemma sighed and sat up in her bed, knowing by Skye's tone of voice that she'd done something wrong.

"I forgot to pack pajamas..." Skye trailed off, stepping into the room with her hands behind her back in an adorable way that was obviously supposed to convince Jemma that it wasn't her fault.

"I've got you covered." Jemma said, slipping out of her own bed and rummaging through one of her drawers. Skye admired Jemma's adorable pajama shorts and tank top that were actually pretty revealing compared to what she normally wore.

"You sleep warm, right?" Jemma asked. Blood rushed into Skye's cheeks until she realized that Jemma was asking about what she liked to wear to bed. Skye nodded and Jemma tossed her a thick, oversized sweatshirt with her high school's logo on the back. Jemma dove back into the drawer, but Skye stopped her.

"I don't sleep with pants on." Skye told her. Jemma was surprised at this, when she'd slept with- slept in the same bed with- Skye, she had always had pants on, but she supposed that was because she was either sick and freezing cold or trying to preserve her dignity in the living room when she was injured.

"Oh. Ok." Jemma said nervously. "Really?!" Jemma exclaimed when Skye slipped her jeans off right there by her door.

"Well, 's nothing you haven't seen before." Skye smirked, taking off her shirt and pulling the hoodie over her head. Jemma actually missed seeing her exposed abs. They had become much more defined since Skye had started competing in nationals. Jemma couldn't help but stare at Skye's bare legs, though.

"Thanks Jems." Skye smiled, picked up her clothes, and strode out of the room, quietly closing the door behind her.

Just as Jemma began to fall asleep, her mind filled with thoughts of Skye, she felt a jab in her shoulder blade. She turned over to find Skye's face a few inches from hers with her bottom lip between her teeth.

"Jemma. Are you awake?" She asked.

"Mhm." Jemma nodded sleepily.

"My room, it's too dark. When I turn on the light, it's too bright." Skye told her. Skye was afraid of the dark? Actually, it made sense. Jemma remembered always seeing the bottle lights on at night in the loft and the T.V. on silent when she was living on the couch.

"Come on, get in. I have a lamp." Jemma scooted over and pat the mattress beside her. Skye smiled and slipped under the covers Jemma held up. Now the lamp Jemma always hated that wasn't bright enough to read under finally came into use. She clicked it on and the dim light filled the room. Skye wasn't shy and snuggled right up against Jemma until their bodies were pressed flush against each other. Jemma turned onto her other side to face Skye and used Skye's shoulder as a pillow. She was unsure of herself at first, but Jemma quickly became comfortable when she put her leg across Skye's and their limbs intertwined as they fell asleep. It was impossible to tell when one girl ended and the other started.

"I love you." Skye whispered, kissing the top of Jemma's head.

"I love you too." Jemma said, wishing she could retrieve the ring from her nightstand and propose to Skye right now. She contained herself though, it had to be special.

**As much as I loved writing these fluff chapters, I really have to add some conflict in the next chapter or it's going to get boring really fast.**


	28. 3- Chapter 4

"Jemma, you're going to be late if you don't- Oh!" Elena exclaimed. She had entered Jemma's room in the morning because she was running late for her last school day before spring break only to see two lumps under the blankets.

"Mum!" Jemma yelped. She sat up in bed and let the sheets and blankets fall away from her and Skye's shoulders to prove that they were clothed. Elena recovered from what looked like a mini heart attack and Skye grumbled, burying her head back under the sheets. At six in the morning in England, according to Skye's body clock, it was still midnight.

"I'm getting up!" Jemma slipped out of her bed as carefully as possible. Elena raised her eyebrows as Jemma tucked her still sleeping girlfriend back in, as if asking what she was supposed to do with the teenager all day.

"She'll probably sleep until I get home. If not, just give her food." Jemma said. Elena laughed, it sounded like she was receiving pet sitting instruction.

Jemma rushed to get ready for school, getting dressed and barely having time to grab a granola bar on her way out the front door to walk to school. Before she got halfway to school, though, she heard Skye calling out behind her and let the other girl catch up.

"I wasn't going to miss dropping you off." Skye said, jogging the last few feet to make it to Jemma's side. Jemma smiled, but inside she was wishing Skye had just slept in and not woken up when she felt Jemma's missing presence. Skye was still wearing Jemma's sweatshirt, but she had slipped on her boots and a pair of jeans with a hole in the knee.

"What are you going to do while I'm at school?" Jemma asked Skye.

"I'm not sure? What do you think?" Skye asked right back. Skye wasn't afraid of hanging out with Jemma's parents for the day, but she still assumed she would get bored pretty quickly.

"Well, you could sleep. You look pretty tired. I also have every season of Doctor Who on DVD under the T.V. in the living room." Jemma suggested as they neared her school.

"That British show with the doctor?" Skye asked.

"That's the one." Jemma laughed.

"I'm sure I'll find something." Skye smiled, turning to face Jemma to say goodbye. They were standing in the entrance of Jemma's campus and Skye probably wouldn't be able to get much further without a security guard trying to stop her. Skye leaned in to kiss her, but the look on Jemma's face told her she better not.

"I know, not in public." Skye sighed. "Why is that, anyway?" She questioned. Jemma glanced around her and saw a particularly mean group of girls snickering at them. They knew the sweatshirt Skye was wearing belonged to Jemma and they were probably laughing at how odd Skye looked.

"Not now, Skye." Jemma told her, clenching her jaw and trying to ignore all the people staring at them.

"Fine." Skye said quietly. Jemma would have liked it more if Skye had been angry. The disappointment lacing her voice like poison made Jemma sick to her stomach as she watched Skye's back as she walked away. Jemma groaned and trudged towards the doors. She couldn't wait to get out of this place. She used to love school, but since she met Skye, all it meant was the frustration of trying to make it through without her.

"Look, the lezzie's got a girlfriend who's even more gay than she is." The group of girls comment as Jemma passed them. Her friends and family had accepted her, but the kings and queens of the social hierarchy were a completely different story.

"Do you think they slept together? What would they even do?" She heard them gossiping.

"By the looks of that girl I'd say they probably do it in a barn." They all laughed. Jemma didn't know what it was, but something inside her snapped. She suddenly knew exactly how Skye felt when she punched that asshole at the rodeo. Before she used logic, she strode straight up to the girls.

"Do you have a problem?" She asked them angrily. They glared at Jemma and her bravery quickly diminished.

"It's talking to us." One of the girls whispered into another's ear, causing all of them to giggle.

"Come on, Simmons." Fitz appeared out of nowhere and dragged Jemma through the hall by her elbow.

"What do you think you're doing? You know it's easiest to stay away from them." Fitz lectured her.

"Hey, Leo." Ashley practically skipped over and kissed Fitz on the cheek. Jemma was furiously jealous that they could show affection in public like that without people thinking they were disgusting or an abomination. Jemma rolled her eyes and pushed past him.

"What is up with you? Is this because of what I said yesterday?" Fitz asked, rushing to catch up to her with Ashley at his side.

"We were jerks, I'm sorry." Fitz said when Simmons didn't respond. Jemma shifted her books in her arms and kept walking. She just wanted to go home and spend a week with Skye.

The day went horribly. The girls out front had quickly spread vicious rumors and Jemma was getting looks all day. It didn't make it better than whenever Jemma left school after her last class, Skye was leaning against a wall outside, no less casually dressed than that morning. There were more students hanging around out front than usual, as if they heard about what happened that morning and were waiting for Jemma to do something with Skye.

"Hey there." Skye said joyously, smiling until she saw the frustrated look on Jemma's face.

"What's wrong?" She asked, grabbing Jemma's hand. Jemma glared at Skye and she retracted her hand hesitantly, confusion in her eyes. She felt horrible for thinking it later, but Jemma wondered if Skye was stupid for just a split second. Skye finally did notice the people looking at them and realized what the problem was.

"It doesn't matter what they think, Jemma, let them look." She said with a comforting smile, leaning in to kiss Jemma gently to prove her point. Jemma wanted to kiss Skye, she really did, but as soon as their lips made contact, she imagined the popular girls laughing their heads off. She half pulled away and half pushed Skye away, looking down at the ground to avoid eye contact with her. She looked behind her and saw all her classmates staring shamelessly.

"Simmons!" Fitz called out, rushing up to them. Jemma and Fitz had been partnered up for a stupid project that had to be done over spring break, but Jemma had run off when the bell rang before she and Fitz could work out a schedule. Fitz didn't seem to realize he was interrupting something and Skye took a few steps back, letting him speak to her. Jemma couldn't see the look on her face, so she turned her attention to Fitz and tried to ignore the awkward situation. They worked out a few times to meet up and Jemma and Skye began to walk home.

It was dead silent until they were halfway home.

"I'm sorry." Skye said, closing her eyes for a brief moment in a worthless attempt to hide how watery they were.

"No, I'm sorry." Jemma said, considering grabbing Skye's hand, but choosing against it.

"I don't understand why it bothers you so much." Skye admits, shrugging her shoulders and finally making eye contact with Jemma.

"I don't know, I guess I just care too much about what people think of me." Jemma said. Their conversation was starting to get better until Skye asked a question.

"Are you embarrassed to be seen with me?" She asked. Jemma froze. She hadn't thought about it, but that was exactly how anyone else would interpret her behavior. She wasn't embarrassed to be seen with Skye, she just didn't like how people teased her about it, but she didn't know how to express this thought to Skye before her silence gave Skye a different answer. Skye nodded and walked faster, beating Jemma to the front door and running upstairs before she could get another word in.

Elena looked at Jemma with a concerned look on her face when Jemma entered the house, but she just held up a hand asking her to let her be for a minute and dropped her backpack by the door, running up the stairs to catch up with Skye.

She knocked on the door of the guest room, but there wasn't any reply. Jemma wiggled the doorknob, but it was clearly locked.

"Skye, let me in. I know you're in there." Jemma pleaded, pressing her back against the door and sliding to the ground.

"Skye," She called again. All she heard in response was a quiet sob and a few of her own tears escaped Jemma's eyes.

"I'm not embarrassed, I just didn't want people to laugh at us. They were making fun of you at school and I wanted them to stop." Jemma explained. She thought it was her imagination at first, but the lock made a little clicking sound, signaling that it was no longer keeping the door closed. Jemma stood up and slowly opened it, trying not to let her heart shatter when she saw Skye sitting on the bed pinching the metal soda tab on her necklace between two fingers.

"I'm sorry." Jemma said again. She sat down on the bed and rubbed circles into Skye's back to calm her down.

"You promise that's all?" Skye asked. "You only didn't want me to kiss you because you don't want people to laugh at us?"

"I promise." Jemma said desperately.

"I tell you what, tomorrow we'll go sightseeing, and you can kiss me as many times as you want." Jemma offered, doing anything to get Skye to forgive her. Skye's eyes lit up and she nodded.

_I'll do it then,_ Jemma thought. If Skye wanted proof that Jemma really loved her and would let anyone else think what they want, Jemma was going to propose to her tomorrow, in public.


	29. 3- Chapter 5

**Sorry it took a bit to finish this chapter.**

**Can you believe it, SHIELD is back in a few days! I can't believe I started this story only a little bit into the break and here we are, still going, when the show is almost back. Well, enjoy the chapter! Make sure you read the note at the bottom and let me know what you think.**

"Ten more minutes, Skye, I promise." Jemma said, never looking up from her paper. Skye sighed and dropped her chin into her palm, watching Jemma and Fitz work on their project from what felt like the dunce corner.

"Yeah, I'll be out of your hair in a few minutes." Fitz said, taking Jemma's paper away from her and arguing about something or another; it was all jibberish to Skye.

Skye knew it would be more than ten minutes, so she wandered into the kitchen to get a snack. Elena already had been making cookies and she offered the plate to Skye. Skye sat down on a stool by the counter and gratefully accepted the food. Jemma's mother may just be one of the best cooks Skye has ever met.

"My trainer isn't going to appreciate how much you're going to fatten me up." Skye joked, nibbling on the cookie. Elena smiled warmly at her, but also offered her a glass of milk.

"I wouldn't count on Jemma finishing any time soon." Elena warned as she shoveled the rest of the cookies from the baking tray onto a cooling rack. Skye remembered her attempt to make cookies with Jemma that had ended in a flour war.

"I know, but I don't blame her. I had to put her aside for my horse training on more than one occasion while she was visiting me, so the least I could do is let her finish her project. I can hang out with her tomorrow if need be." Skye said.

"Such a sweet girl..." Elena mumbled as she busied herself with cleanup tasks. Skye couldn't tell if Elena had been talking directly to her or not, but she took it as a compliment anyway. She was glad Jemma's mother liked her so much.

"Can I ask you something?" Skye piped up after draining the last of her milk.

"Of course, dear." Elena said over her shoulder.

"What colleges did Jemma apply to? I know she tells you everything, and I was just wondering..." Skye trailed off. Elena stopped her dish washing, draped the towel over the edge of the sink, and sat across from Skye at the counter.

"I wish I could tell you, darling, but it's up to Jemma. You should ask her." Elena said. She knew that Jemma had only applied to veterinary schools in Tennessee, but she couldn't ruin Jemma's plans to surprise Skye, no matter how much her future daughter-in-law looked like a puppy. Skye nodded and drummed her fingers against the counter, obviously bored out of her mind.

* * *

As soon as Skye left for the kitchen, Fitz dropped the paper he hadn't cared anything about and started talking to Jemma about what he really cared about at the moment.

"Really, Jemma?" He asked.

"What?" She asked defensively, watching Skye chat with her mother through the entryway to the kitchen.

"I can see why you're hung up on her, she's absolutely beautiful, but I'm worried about you." Fitz said.

"If you start this up again, you're leaving." Jemma warned, throwing him a glare of maximum intensity. She could see his point, though. She would never see it this way, but to Fitz it just looked like his best friend was head over heels for a girl with a pretty face and no longer cared about her old plans for the future.

"Fine." Fitz said, but he clearly didn't want to be done talking about the subject. Jemma could only imagine how Fitz would react if she told him she was trying to propose to Skye and he was getting in the way.

"That's enough for the project today, we'll finish it in a few days." Jemma told him, already beginning to pack his stuff into his backpack for him. Fitz sighed and gathered his things before agreeing to meet in two days and leaving through the front door.

Glad that Fitz was finally gone, Jemma dashed up to her room to grab the velvet box in her night stand before Skye noticed that Fitz had left. Jemma opened the box carefully and trailed her fingers over the silver ring before closing it gently and making sure it was safe in the pocket of her windbreaker.

* * *

"You're not going to get him to do anything." Jemma warned Skye as they approached the guard in bright red uniform. Jemma knew Skye would get a kick out of the guards at Buckingham Palace, so they made the trip in the afternoon.

"What are you talking about? Red and I are best friends!" Skye exclaimed, standing next to the unamused guard.

"Red didn't talk much, but that's why I liked him. Much less annoying than all the other hormonal teenagers." Skye continued, making up the strange story as she went.

"We sat in the back, Red and I, bored out of our minds and staring at the front of the room instead of taking notes." Skye continued, crossing her arms over her chest. Jemma had trouble containing her own laughter and couldn't believe it when she saw the guard's mouth twitch. In all their years, Fitz and Jemma had never managed to get a royal guard this close to laughing.

"When you joined the military, I was shocked, Red." Skye turned to face the young soldier and address her made-up friend directly. "From where I stood it didn't look like you were going to budge on becoming an impressionist." Skye said. The puns were finally too much for the guard and he cracked a tiny smile.

"Yes!" Skye yelled, pumping a fist in the air as Jemma doubled over laughing. The guard let just a tiny chuckle escape before marching off with perfect form to hide his slip-up.

"Woah, no need to run away!" Skye called after him as the soldier's slow march took him away. "I'll see you at the reunion!" Skye waved goodbye and walked back to Jemma, unable to hold back the tears in her eyes from laughing so hard.

"I can't believe you." Jemma grabbed onto Skye's sleeve and wiped away the wetness in the corner of her eyes with her free hand. "Come on, let's go get some food." Jemma suggested, leading Skye to a nearby café to have a late lunch. Jemma was nervous, but she tried not to show it. Her palms were sweating and her heart was lurching, she knew this was the moment they would tell their kids about someday. If Skye said yes.

It was after a meal in the outdoor seating area that Jemma knew it was time. She'd never been a believer of knowing the moment when it comes, but she was beginning to change her mind as the box in her pocket felt like it was burning a hole.

"It really is great to see you, Jems. I miss you during the year." Skye sighed and finished the last sip of her coke. She rested her elbows on the table and stared at Jemma with eyes full of love.

"What if you didn't have to miss me all year?" Jemma asked, beginning to lead her way in. She knew she had already grabbed Skye's attention.

"What are you getting at?" Skye asked in half disbelief and half excitement.

Jemma had written an entire speech, but none of it came to mind, it was like Skye wiped her brain clean. Maybe it was a good thing. Winging it made sure Jemma could express her feelings at the moment they were happening instead of prewriting them.

First, Jemma pulled her acceptance letter to the veterinary school twenty-five minutes away from Phil's house out of her pocket and slid it across the table. Skye looked confused for a moment until she recognized the college logo in the corner of the envelope. Her eyes widened and Jemma felt something explode in her chest. She stood up quiet clumsily, knocking her leg against the table on accident. She recovered quickly and dropped down on one knee next to Skye. Jemma wished she had a camera she could always be able to see Skye's face like this. Her eyes were bright and watery and she brought a hand up to her mouth to smother a gasp.

At that moment Jemma wondered if she would always be stuck in that position; she suddenly couldn't remember anything she wanted to say and couldn't even remember what words were. All she knew as that she was kneeling in front of her girlfriend, the most beautiful girl in the world, and she would do anything to get her to say yes.

"What are you doing?" Skye whispered, even though it was completely clear to her when Jemma pulled the box out of her pocket and flipped open the top.

"I'm living a little." Jemma smiled, using the phrase Skye had used several times to get Jemma to do something. Skye's smile assured Jemma and she knew she was ready.

"You completely changed my life, Skye. I was so focused on one goal for the future that I was missing out on everything good in life, but you pulled the binoculars away from my face and allowed me to see what was right in front of me with a clear view. I was so close-minded about being a biologist until I fell in love with you and realized that there were a lot of things more important to me than homework.

I want to start a new life in the world I see with new eyes and I want to start it with you. You're the most important thing to me and I love you. Skye, will you marry me?" Jemma took a deep breath and searched Skye's face for an answer. She panicked and thought for a brief moment that Skye was going to say no. She couldn't tell if Skye's tears were happy or upset.

Skye felt like she had just been punched in the chest and she didn't know what words to use to give an answer. They were going to remember this forever, she had to come up with something better than 'yes' to say back, right? Skye did enjoy the anxious look on Jemma's face though, it was adorable.

Skye managed to provide a tiny nod before cracking and losing her reserve. A small, unexplained sob jumped from Skye's throat and she launched herself at Jemma' wrapping her arms around the shorter girl and pressing her face against her neck.

Several people in the café applauded, there were good people after all. Jemma squeezed Skye firmly and tried to help her stop crying as she stood up with Skye still attached to her. This was definitely not how she expected Skye to react, but she'd take it. She got a yes and a funny story to tell.

Not even Skye was entirely sure why she was crying. She guessed it was probably relief as well as happiness. Ever since she and Jemma had argued about her future, Skye had been terrified she wasn't going to fit in with any of Jemma's plans. She'd had trouble sleeping and concentrating at times, but all of that was over. She was going to be with Jemma forever.

"I love you." Skye croaked into Jemma's hair.

**So, I'm not exactly sure how much further I can take this story during the spring break. I can add a few fluff chapters since skimmons is engaged (I loved writing this part). Would you want me to still continue this story? I know this is an insanely long fanfic, but I still think I could add a little more about their new lives if you wanted. Maybe one more section? I'd really like to write about Jemma and Skye's domestic life (maybe with kids, what do you think?) in this AU world. So, you guys just have to let me know. When this section is finished, do you want me to go on? Tell me anything you think about the topics above. Love you guys!**


	30. 3- Chapter 6

**Sorry this chapter isn't so great, I'm still a little shaken up from the midseason premier (****_shaken_****, you get it? ha.) I have writer's block as well, so I apologize in advance. I will try to continue this story, as many of you want me to. Thanks for reading! **

**As a side note, THANK YOU FOR 100 FOLLOWERS! This story had by far been my favorite to write. Although it started off with very few followers, it quickly became my most popular story. Thanks, guys. You rock. (_rock_. ha again.)**

It was fitting that it began raining just after the proposal. It was raining the first time Jemma told Skye she was in love with her, and here they were, soaking wet in the rain again. This time, though, they were holding each other on Jemma's porch instead of waist-deep in muddy lake water.

"I love you so much." Skye shivered and pressed her cold palms against Jemma's cheeks. Skye loved the way strands of Jemma's hair were sticking to her face and her clothes were pasted against her skin. She wrapped one arm around Jemma's waist and pulled her closer, and with the other, she encircled Jemma's shoulder and weaved her fingers into her hair. She kissed Jemma more passionately than she ever had, nipping her bottom lip lightly and begging her for entrance. Jemma wasn't about to deny it and they both fought for dominance over the kiss. It left them both breathless.

"You have a family now, Skye." Jemma said when they parted.

"You're my family." Skye agreed, blinking droplets of water out of her eyes that were falling from the clouds above them.

"Let's get inside before we freeze." Jemma rubbed the sides of Skye's arms in a measly little attempt to stop her shivering.

"Mum, she said yes!" Jemma shouted as soon as the door closed behind them and the booming sound of the rain outside dimmed to a quiet patter from within the house. An excited yelp echoed from the kitchen and Elena rushed into the foyer.

"Congratulations, dears!" Elena said. Her motherly instincts took over and she pulled Skye's wet jacket off of her before Skye even realized what she was doing.

"Fredrick will be so happy when he returns from work!" Elena bubbled. Without thinking, Skye wrapped her arms around Jemma's mother and hugged her tightly.

"Thank you for not telling me, Mrs. Simmons." Skye mumbled.

"You can call me mum if you like." Elena offered quietly. "That's enough tears, sweetheart. You two go get out of those wet clothes and we'll celebrate when Fredrick gets home." Jemma giggled at Skye's embarrassment; she had left a huge wet spot on the front of Elena's clothing from her own sopping wet clothes.

"Well, go on, before you make a puddle." Elena told them. She herded the two girls up the stairs and went back to the kitchen with a smile on her face to make tea. She knew it was nontraditional for them to get married at eighteen, but Skye made Jemma so happy and Elena already loved Skye like another daughter.

They didn't even make it to Jemma's room before their lips were locked again and they didn't make it to Jemma's bed, collapsing on the carpet, but Skye assumed this was Jemma trying to keep her sheets dry.

"I still can't believe we're engaged." Jemma gasped when Skye lightly bit the skin under her ear.

"You're the one who proposed, if anyone's getting over the surprise, it's me." Skye said between kisses.

"I'm actually cold, Skye." Jemma complained. She wanted to get out of her wet clothes and warm up, but Skye was on top of her.

"I can fix that." Skye said seductively. Her hands wandered to Jemma's sides underneath her shirt and Jemma slid her hands under Skye's top, wrapping her arms around her back. Jemma pulled Skye against herself even when there was no more space to fill between them. All of a sudden there was that heat again, the insistent lust she hadn't felt since the one time at the lake.

"I think I'm ready when you are." Jemma didn't think she'd heard it right at first, but the message murmured against her throat spoke clearly for itself.

"I think I'm ready, too, but not now. I don't want to get walked in on our first time." Jemma replied, finally releasing Skye and resisting the urge to say never mind and pull off Skye's shirt.

"Your parents await." Skye said in a medieval accent. She stood up and left Jemma sitting on the floor to watch in admiration as she peeled off her shirt and took one of Jemma's many turtleneck sweaters. Jemma finally got up as Skye changed jeans and got herself dressed, never looking away from her fiancé.

"You're wearing that just because you know I like to see more of you." Jemma complained, referring to the long sleeves and high neck of Skye's (Jemma's) shirt. Jemma wished she had more revealing clothing for Skye to steal. Skye stuck out her tongue and sat down on the bed to wait for Jemma to finish up.

"So, are we getting married in England or America?" Skye asked to pass the time. They had a few minutes before Jemma's dad would be getting home and figured they had the time to themselves.

"The lake." Jemma said as she pulled her hair into a sloppy, wet ponytail.

"Good idea. It should be small, just family and friends." Skye added.

"Please. Even if you invited your whole town it would still be considered a small wedding." Jemma joked, bouncing onto the bed beside Skye and resting her chin on Skye's shoulder.

"Maybe I will." Skye stuck out her tongue.

"This is just so surreal." Jemma sighed, leaning into Skye. Skye wrapped her arm around Jemma's waist and pressed a kiss into her hair.

"If this is a dream, I hope I don't ever wake up." Skye told her. Jemma took Skye's left hand in her own and played with the engagement ring, spinning it in circles on Skye's finger.

"Girls, come downstairs!" They both grinned when Jemma's excited mother called them back down. They got up off the bed at the exact same time, almost as if they were the same person.

"This will be interesting." Skye joked as they practically skipped down the hall hand in hand. When they got to the bottom of the steps, however, they both stopped and Jemma's smile turned into a frown. Fitz was standing there, staring at Skye's left hand in disbelief.

"I hope you didn't mind, we invited Leopold as well." Elena jabbered on, completely unaware of the tension in the room.

"Congratulations." It sounded like Fitz was forcing himself to say it. Jemma clenched her jaw and hoped that Skye wouldn't pick up on his distastefulness and have her mood killed as well.

**I made a little trailer for this fanfiction on my skimmons youtube channel. You can check that out as well as my other videos. I recently made a pretty funny crack video and I'd like to hear what you guys think about that too. I can't put URLs on here, so I'll help you find it. On youtube, search "agents of shield skimmons fanfiction" to find the trailer. My channel is AgentsofShieldVideos, so click on the one with that name ^_^. Once you get to my channel you can watch some of my videos and let me know what you think!**


	31. 3- Chapter 7

Jemma, Skye, Fitz, and Jemma's parents all settled down on the couches on either side of the coffee table in the living room. They listened to the rain patter on the roof for a few minutes as Jemma and Skye warmed up by drinking their tea and snuggling into each other's sides. Elena and Frederick watched them in adoration, but Fitz seemed indifferent.

"What time of the year are you thinking about?" Elena began the onslaught of questions. She and her husband were passing a note pad back and forth and asking Jemma and Skye questions. What had started out as tea and celebrating turned into Jemma's parents, mostly her mother, helping them plan their wedding while Fitz slumped back into the couch with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Summer." Jemma and Skye said in unison without even looking at each other. It was a given.

"Location?" Elena asked while scribbling on the yellow pad in her lap.

"There's a rally beautiful lake on the ranch that we'd like to have it at." Skye piped up. Jemma reached for Skye's hand and intertwined their fingers, relishing the new feeling of the metal on her ring finger. Her happiness took a punch to the gut when she noticed Fitz giving them a disgruntled look.

"I don't think there are any standards for this, but what do you want to wear?" Frederick finally asked his own question.

"I'd like to wear a dress." Elena made note of Jemma's preference and everyone looked to Skye.

"I... uh, me, too." Skye blushed.

"You want to wear a dress?" Jemma scoffed jokingly.

"Hey, that wasn't easy to admit!" Skye slapped Jemma's arm playfully. "I guess I've just always imagined myself in a wedding dress when I got married." Skye's cheeks only continued to redden.

"I'd love for you to wear a dress." Jemma tried to ease Skye's embarrassed suffering.

"Well, if you plan on having the wedding as soon as this summer, you better start the invitation list." Elena handed the pad across the coffee table to Jemma. She wrote down the names that were contributed.

"Obviously your parents." Skye started.

"Uncle Phil"

"Ward's family"

"Melinda May"

"Lance Hunter"

"Bobbi!" Jemma exclaimed. Skye laughed and bet Jemma ten bucks that if they were both there, Bobbi and Hunter would be kissing before the vows.

"Trip"

"Fitz" When Jemma added his name, Fits stood abruptly.

"I have to go, I'm expected home for dinner." He said, but Skye followed him out the door into the rain.

"Do you have a problem?" Skye asked him just before he made it to his car. She wrapped her arms around her torso in a weak attempt to keep from getting soaking wet and cold again. Fitz stared at her without reply.

"Did you hear me? I asked if you have a problem with Jemma and I getting married." Skye charged up to him so forcefully that he backed up into the side of his car. Once Fitz got over his shock, he stood up straight and took a few steps, causing Skye to fall back in a wordless battle of dominance.

"Yeah, maybe I do." He growled.

"Please, enlighten me." Skye snapped right back, stepping so close to him that she could smell his cheap cologne, even in the rain.

"If it weren't for you, Jemma would be going to a real college and doing what she's wanted to do her whole life." Fitz finally told her. The tone of his voice was one that would rip out Skye's heart if she let it, but she didn't.

"Believe me, Fitz, Jemma and I have shared _many_ words about this already. You think I didn't try to talk her out of being with me? I knew she wanted to be a biochemist, same as you, but that's the point. She _wanted_ to be a biochemist, as in past tense. Now she wants to be a veterinarian. When she visited the ranch that first summer, she didn't just fall in love with me, she fell in love with horses. She loves the animals just as much as I do, and now she wants to work with them as a career. She changed her mind about what she wants, and I think the real problem is that you don't want to accept the fact that she doesn't want to spend the rest of her life as your lab partner!" Skye yelled over the thunder booming in their ears and poked his chest in anger and to get her point across. A look of recognition passed over his face, like he hadn't even known that was what he was feeling and Skye had pointed it out to him. While Skye still took deep breaths to make up for the air she lost yelling at him, Fitz's eyebrows furrowed and his eyes began to water.

"I'm sorry." He said simply. Skye took one breath before speaking to him again in a much calmer voice than before.

"Come back inside and celebrate with us. Your best friend is getting married. Get your butt back in there, jackass." Skye smiled, motioning back towards the house with her hand. Fitz returned her smile and walked back up the driveway with her towards the front porch. Skye continued smiling at him and even punched him in the arm playfully to let him know he could have forgiveness if he wanted it.

"I was wrong about you, Skye. You're an okay person." Fitz told Skye at when they reached the cover of the porch and he didn't have to yell for Skye to hear him.

"You don't suck, either." Skye told him. The door flew open and a very concerned Jemma yanked them into the house, commanding that Skye go upstairs and change before she got sick from being soaked again. This time, Fitz could watch Jemma's preoccupation with Skye as she dragged the sopping wet barrel racer up the steps and really appreciate how much Jemma loved her.


	32. The Wedding

**Here we are at the chapter everyone has been waiting for since January 1st when this story was published, for all 54,961 words of this story, and all 31 chapters: the skimmons wedding. Please read the author's note at the bottom, thanks.**

"Oh, my baby girl's getting married!" Elena brought her hands up to her face when she finally finished pestering with Jemma's dress in front of the mirror.

"Oh, mum." Jemma sighed, pulling her into a hug. Truthfully, she was just about ready to cry. Her last separation from Skye was finally over. Skye had to go back for her barrel racing while Jemma finished the rest of her school year in complete agony, waiting to see her soon-to-be wife again. The same night she graduated, she, her parents, and Fitz all flew out to the United States for the wedding.

Jemma turned back to face herself in the mirror and ran her hands down her sides to smooth out the last few wrinkles in the long, white wedding dress. Her eyes had begun to water and her mother quickly dried them with a small cloth to avoid smearing her makeup.

Jemma never imaged she'd be here, especially not at eighteen, getting married. She looked around her at the room that felt more like home than anywhere else, her room at her uncle's house. Some of her things had accumulated in the room over the two summers she'd spent in it. Picture frames were crammed on the night stand, dresser, and desk, some of them of her family and Fitz, but most of them of Skye and herself, leaning on gates, kissing horse's noses, or kissing each other.

When she pulled open the desk drawer, Jemma found the first letter Skye had written her. She compressed it against her chest for a moment and Elena watched with more tears in her eyes.

"I'm ready, mum." Jemma beamed. Elena called in Jemma's father to see her. He pulled her into a great big bear hug and reacted fairly similar to her mother.

"Little Jemma, getting married." He sighed.

"Fredrick, you'll mess up her dress and her veil!" Elena huffed, separating the two like a human crowbar. The white tool-like material had almost come out of her hair, but Elena quickly repositioned it. Jemma could hardly wait to see Skye in the matching outfit, the one that May was probably helping her with up in the loft.

"Well, we better get going. We can't have a bride being late to her own wedding." Fredrick said, taking Jemma and Elena out the front door and into the warm, summer air. Jemma's eyes scanned the surrounding area for Skye, but there was no sight of her. Skye was one of the cheesy people who believed it was bad luck to see each other right before the wedding, so Jemma was pretty positive she wouldn't being seeing Skye until they were at the altar.

They couldn't very well walk or ride to the lake, with Jemma being in her wedding dress and all her friends and family in their formal wear, so many of the townspeople Skye invited brought horse-drawn wagons that were still in their families' possession.

"Simmons, over here!" Jemma heard Fitz call out from Bobbi's wagon across the yard. Jemma pulled her dress up away from her feet and ran to him, throwing her arms around his neck.

"I'm happy for you. Really." Fitz assured her when they parted.

"Thank you." Jemma kissed his cheek and let him help her up into the back of the wagon. Jemma didn't know what Skye had done, but Fitz didn't oppose her marriage once after they came back from their talk in the rain. Apparently Skye was as good with people as she was with horses.

When the wagon finally pulled up to the area around the lake, Jemma took a sharp intake of breath. Her uncle, May, and her parents had insisted that they decorate the area, and they had done an amazing job. A white arch-like structure was positioned near the edge of the lake, under she and Skye's favorite tree. How they had known, she didn't know. It may have just been chance, but it made the decorations even more special. Flowers of all kinds were everywhere, laced around the bases of the arch, tied to the white plastic chairs in the grass, and in small pots that weighed down an equally white carpet down the center of the decorations and kept it from blowing in the breeze.

"It's beautiful." Jemma thanked Phil and her parents while all of their guests found seats. May still hadn't arrived, and neither had Skye. It was in Jemma's nature to immediately start worrying, and Phil put his hand on her shoulder.

"She'll be here. You're going down the aisle first." Phil informed her. Jemma knew that Skye wasn't going to appear until she was at the altar, she didn't want Jemma to see her until she was walking down the aisle. Still, Jemma worried that Skye wasn't going to show up on time and she'd be left standing up at the front with the town's preacher wondering where she was.

Music started playing from a speaker somewhere, probably the exact same speakers Jemma and Skye first danced to, and Jemma's father looped her arm through hers. Her heart beat flew through the roof the further she got down the aisle and the more people she passed. Bobbi and Hunter kissed lightly before smiling at her; she owed Skye ten bucks. Ward and Jill were in front of them, trying keeping their son still. Fitz nodded at her with encouragement when she passed him and her mom was practically sobbing in the front row.

Jemma settled into her spot and the preacher, whose kind face was crinkled with age, smiled warmly. She shifted nervously and it looked as if the summer wind was blowing her along with the grass, but she was waiting impatiently for Skye. Just as she had predicted, Skye and May were nowhere in sight. A horrible knot tied itself in Jemma's stomach similar to when she watched Skye get dragged across an arena and she was beginning to panic internally.

Just when Jemma was about to freak out and go looking for her, two horses galloped over the hill and sped down to the little nook. Jemma, along with everyone else, laughed at how silly Skye looked on that horse in her wedding dress, with a panicked expression plastered onto her face.

Skye flew off Calypso before he even slowed down, somehow landing on her feet with a gracefulness Jemma wondered if she'd ever have.

"Wagon wheel... broke." Skye panted while May tied their two horses to a nearby branch. A smile smeared across Jemma's face when she finally took in Skye's full image in the wedding dress. She was beautiful and was exactly the bride she wanted, even with the wind-whipped hair and riding boots sticking out from underneath her dress.

Skye finally stopped looking so horrified when she noticed the smile on Jemma's face, she straightened her back, standing up straight, and grinned. Phil stood up and switched places with May; she sat down and he took Skye's arm.

A warm feeling spread through Skye's chest then. Not only did she have someone to marry, but she had a father walking her down the aisle. Skye took a deep breath and let Coulson lead her through the best moment of her life.

After a whole lot of talking that went by as Jemma and Skye stared lovingly into each other's eyes, they finally said their I-do's and to the part that everyone was waiting for. They exchanged rings, delicately slipping the matching silver bands studded with small gems.

"Jemma Simmons and Skye, you have expressed your love to one another through the commitment and promises you have just made. It is with these in mind that I pronounce you wives. You have kissed a thousand times, maybe more, but today the feeling is new. No longer simply partners and best friends, you have become wives and can now seal the agreement with a kiss. Today, your kiss is a promise. You may kiss the bride." The preacher said to, well, both of them. Skye didn't wait for anything, she pushed against Jemma and let the whole world know just how much she loved her. Jemma's lips stretched into a smile beneath hers, and their friends and family went wild.

* * *

The reception was also held by the lake, all that had to be changed was bringing the food and folding tables everyone contributed from the wagons. Once they were all settled, Ward stood and held up a glass. Everyone silenced and watched Ward give the first best man's speech. Jemma and Skye figured that if there were two brides, there could be two best men. They intertwined their fingers as Ward began talking.

"I've known this dork forever." Everyone laughed at his introduction as he pointed at Skye with his free hand.

"I know now isn't the time to bring up sad stories, but when I look back at it now, I'm glad it happened. Skye and I grew up in the system together, and we were always there for each other. She was there when I got sent to a crappy foster home, and I did the same for her. We saved each other. I felt a little guilty when I turned eighteen, got married, and she was still in foster care, but that's changed. Skye found her 'forever home' as our social worker always said, and she found her soul mate.

I have to admit, I was a bit skeptical when goody-two-shoes over there showed up in sneakers and pretty shirts, I thought it would never work between them. But it did. It was fun to watch from the side as they tested each other for an ENTIRE two and a half months." Ward looked pointedly at Skye and Jemma giggled, remembering that time in their relationship when they were both scared the other was straight.

"But, eventually, they caught onto each other. I'm glad they did and I hope they spend the rest of their lives together." Ward sat down and Skye pat his knee while everyone applauded, silently thanking him. Fitz stood up shakily with a few note cards in his hands.

"Poor Fitz, he's not very good at public speaking." Jemma sighed and whispered into Skye's ear. When the small crowd died down again, Fitz began.

"Well, uh, you see-" Fitz fumbled with his note cards for a few minutes before finally tossing them to the ground.

"Oh, forget it. I did have a whole speech prepared, but it wasn't very good." Jemma laughed and hoped for Fitz's sake that he did have something else planned. Jemma knew it was going to be good when Fitz put the hand that wasn't holding his glass on his hip in that funny way of his and glanced back and forth between Jemma and Skye.

"Honestly, I thought Skye was some fantasy crush of Jemma's for the summers she kept writing back to me. I was beginning to wonder if she completely imagined everything." Fitz started. Jemma was laughing so hard the corners of her eyes were wet, but she tried to remain silent.

"When I did meet Skye, I have to admit I thought she was a little bit of a knobhead." At this Jemma finally fell apart, having to lean against Skye's shoulder. "At first it sounded like she had a really strange accent. It sounded so weird in the beginning that I thought she had to have been faking it just to bug me." Skye raised her eyebrows and looked at Fitz in question, like she was sarcastically asking him if he had anything good to say about her.

"The whole idea was so foreign to me. It was weird to see Jemma fawning over her in person. I wasn't exactly all for them getting married at first, probably because I was an idiot, but Skye straightened me out. Oops, wrong word choice. That pun was not intended." Fitz had the whole audience laughing by the time he was through, finally reeling everyone back in for the actual toast.

"To Skye and Jemma." He raised his glass in the air. "May they live together happily for the rest of their lives. I'd like us all to make a toast for, for the first time, Jemma and Skye Simmons." Everyone applauded and Jemma wiped away both her and Skye's tears with her thumb as the chinking sound of glasses reached their ears.

**Hey readers! I hoped you liked this chapter, my little heart was so swollen it was about to burst while I was writing it. I know you guys want another section, but I don't think I should write it. I would like to post another chapter or two just to show their future lives and wrap up the whole story, but probably no more than that. I've been feeling like the story is being stretched out too much, and it's not fair to you guys or me to keep doing that, because the writing will get horrible. As much as I hate to admit it, this story is almost over. I feel like I'm losing a child or something, but it's time I move on to greener pastures. This was my absolute favorite story to ever write, and I loved this western universe. I hope you enjoyed this story and that you enjoy the last few chapters to come. Thank you for being such good readers since I posted this story on the first day of this year, it was a fun experience. I love you guys, truly.**


	33. The Honeymoon

**Sorry this chapter took so long! I originally wrote it on my phone, but it got stolen (I have decided that all people suck except for Jemma and Skye). Anyways, a bunch of people wanted a chapter about Jemma and Skye's first time, so I'm delivering. I made this as *descriptive* as possible without having to bump this story up to an M rating. I always thought that innocent little Jemma would be the dominant one in bed, so... yeah.**

"This is really happening." Jemma giggled as Skye pushed her back onto the bed. Ward had a secluded cabin out in the woods that would serve as a nice honeymoon suite for them. Skye and Jemma had decided they wanted something private for their honeymoon, so they packed a bunch of food and supplies and rode Sunshine and Calypso out to the cabin to stay for a week. Both girls had already shed their wedding dresses and were in their undergarments on the bed.

"No regrets?" Skye asked.

"None at all, Mrs. Simmons." Jemma pressed a kiss to Skye's lips.

"This last name thing isn't too bad." Skye smiled.

"Are you ready for this?" Jemma asked.

"Of course I am. Are you?" Skye asked, referring to the obvious. They were almost completely naked on a bed, alone, on their honeymoon.

"I hope you're not thinking that you're going to stay on top." Jemma joked. "Remember where you were the first time this almost happened?"

"I was only on the bottom because I was broken." Skye pouted, pressing her leg in between Jemma's and causing a wave of electricity to shoot through both of their bodies.

"You're not broken now, are you?" Jemma asked, moaning quietly when Skye pressed a kiss to the side of her neck. She felt Skye shake her head no and she smiled mischievously.

"Good." Jemma grabbed Skye's hips and rolled over on top of her, gaining control over the situation and unclipping Skye's bra in the front. Jemma felt a definite tingle between her legs when she felt Skye's arms reach around her back and unclip her bra.

* * *

"Wow." Skye panted. Jemma was still lying on top of her under the sheets and grinning like an idiot.

"I can't believe I completely wore out a national athlete." Jemma teased.

"I gave you a run for your money and you know it." Skye breathed. Jemma brushed a strand of hair out of Skye's sweaty face and slipped a hand between Skye's legs.

"No more, Jems, I don't have anything left." Skye complained, but her body betrayed her and her hips lifted off the bed to reach Jemma's touch. A soft moan escaped her throat and Jemma laughed, finally putting Skye out of her misery by rolling off her. Skye responded by turning onto her side and throwing on arm over Jemma's stomach, cuddling her face into her wife's neck.

"You're incorrigible." Jemma kissed her forehead.

"I don't even know what that means, but I don't care." Skye grumbled. Both of their bodies were slick with sweat and Jemma had to admit, she was worn out. They each had several orgasms throughout the night and she didn't think first time sex was supposed to be this good. Maybe they were just both naturals. Skye quickly fell asleep on Jemma's chest and Jemma slowly drifted off as well.

When Jemma woke early that morning, Skye was still fast asleep in her arms. Jemma giggled at the way Skye looked so worn out that not even a single muscle in her face was working. Her jaw was slack against Jemma's skin and her mouth was partially hanging open.

Jemma pulled her even closer and pressed a kiss into Skye's messy hair. With feather-light fingertips, Jemma ran her fingers up and down the side of Skye's body. This girl was hers forever, she got to wake up to this every morning for the rest of her life. How lucky was she?

Skye finally shifted in her sleep, moaning Jemma's name and tightening her grip on Jemma's side. It made her even more satisfied to know that she pleased Skye so much that the other girl was still dreaming about their night together.

"Hey cowgirl." Jemma whispered. Skye furrowed her eyebrows, but didn't seem to wake up. "Sleepyhead." It didn't seem like anything was going to wake Skye up, that's why Jemma was so surprised by what happened next.

"JEMMA!" Skye moved so quickly and said her name so loudly that Jemma screamed and rolled right off the bed. Skye's laughter exploded through the room like a bomb, but she was so tangled in both Jemma and the sheets that she toppled right off the bed as well and landed with a dull _thump _on the wooden floor. Skye was still laughing and Jemma was recovering from a near heart attack.

"You're absolutely horrible!" Jemma tried undoing the mess they were stuck in, but they were just that. They were tangled in the sheets like flies in a web and both their bodies were crammed into the two foot space between the bed and the wall.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't resist!" Skye laughed and awkwardly twisted her body to kiss Jemma's cheek.

"I'm actually stuck, Skye." Jemma whined, only causing Skye to laugh harder.

"I will get you back for this." Jemma growled when they were finally free.

"Looking forward to-" Before Skye could finish, Jemma threw Skye back onto the bed and cut off her sentence with a hard, open-mouthed kiss.


	34. Epilogue

**I finally caught up with the whole fangirl thing and got myself a tumblr... I think some of you already know my blog! I recognized quite a few followers' names. My blog is SkimmonsFiction for anyone that is interested. I post some of my fics from this site on there, but somehow it ended up turning into a skimmons pick-up line blog. No regrets.**

**I'm back with what is probably the last chapter. Again, I really enjoyed this and thank you to everyone who reviewed, followed, and everything. I made this chapter super long to fulfill all your fluff needs as this story pulls into a close. **

"Mommy, Mamma, I finished!" A little girl pulled the blankets away from her parents' bodies before the sun had even risen.

"You promised this one would take her longer to solve." Skye groaned and complained, nuzzling her face into Jemma's neck.

"I thought it would." Jemma laughed. Every year, Mandy, their daughter, was extremely excited for her birthday because the whole family would go out on a camping trip. They'd wander out into the countryside on horseback and find somewhere pretty to stay for two days and a night. She always woke up earlier than even the earliest of birds looking for worms, so Jemma had to give her a complicated math problem to solve with the promise that they would get up and get ready when she finished it.

"Mamma, you promised." Mandy burrowed her way in between Skye and Jemma and wrapped her arms around Skye's head.

"Alright, Digit, I'm up." Skye sighed and sat up, having to pry the small hands from around her neck. Digit was Mandy's nickname, given to her by Skye when she was four and started making simple mathematical equations with the number blocks Jemma had given her. She started adding and subtracting before she ever learned how to read. She definitely had Jemma's genes in her.

When Jemma and Skye had decided that they wanted a child, it had taken some time to choose who would be carrying the baby and who would donate an egg, but they ended up having Jemma take both parts. It took lots of convincing before Jemma would agree, because she wanted Mandy to be a part of both of them, but logic was against it. Anyway, Mandy didn't have to be scientifically a part of each of them for her to be their daughter. Skye knew this better than anyone.

They agreed immediately that Jemma should be the one to get pregnant because Skye was still frequently getting into barrel racing accidents, though they were not as severe as Jemma always feared. It was a given that it would not be good for the baby to be inside of Skye when she would be inevitably thrown from a horse she was training or any number of things that could happen.

Trying to have Jemma accept that they shouldn't use one of Skye's eggs was the hard part, though she eventually won the argument. Skye would be uncomfortable being the one to pass on her DNA when they had no idea what types of diseases ran in her family, and the science behind this fear was what finally made Jemma give in.

Jemma just laughed at the way Mandy held Skye accountable for their camping trip.

"Mommy, you can make harder ones." She scolded Jemma. Skye bit back a laugh. Though Mandy didn't have her DNA, they certainly were alike. Mandy was the sassiest little child imaginable and she already knew how to use sarcasm, which greatly annoyed Jemma. The little girl also had Skye's gift for animal communication; she was a natural rider. That talent must come from spending time around them.

Jemma kissed the top of her head and ruffled the light brown hair that was exactly the same shade as her own.

"How old are you today?" Jemma asked in a mocking voice that sounded like she didn't actually know the answer. Mandy huffed and held out her fingers.

"Seven." She stuck her tongue out for effect.

"Seven?!" Jemma exclaimed. "Why, you're practically a grown-up!" Skye saw Jemma's fingers coming and hugged their daughter tight so she couldn't escape the tickle attack that was coming for her. Mandy's bright, high pitch laughter exploded through the room.

"Go get dressed darling, and bring that math problem into the kitchen when you've finished. Mamma and I will make breakfast and invite Uncle Phil and Aunt May over." Jemma instructed. Mandy nodded and bolted off the bed and towards her room.

"Seven years. Can you believe it?" Skye sighed and pressed her lips against Jemma's.

"And to think that at first you didn't want a child until we were older." Jemma teased against her wife's lips and thought back to their discussion almost nine years ago, not long after their marriage.

_"What?" Skye looked up from her bowl of ice cream and paused the movie they were watching, staring at Jemma with wide eyes._

_"I want a baby." She said simply. Skye put her bowl on the coffee table in front of them and gripped Jemma's hands with her own cold ones._

_"I want to have kids, too, but I'd like to be old enough to drink before I even think about having children." Skye laughed nervously. She never expected to be married at eighteen, much less have a child before she turned twenty._

_"Well, most couples have children around the age of twenty five. Do you really want to wait seven years before we start considering it?" Jemma asked. This seemed to get Skye thinking._

_"But now, Jems? You're still in veterinary school, and we've hardly been married for a year..." Skye said, but she knew it was no use. Skye wanted little feet running around the house and Skye knew Jemma knew she wanted it too. They had even built their house for children, adding two spare bedrooms to the floor plan when the house was built._

_"How about we get a tester baby?" Skye snapped and her eyes brightened at her own idea. Jemma looked at her in confusion. She wasn't sure if Skye meant a school-project-flour-baby type thing, or something else._

_"A puppy, Jemma." Skye said. "Puppies require a ton of work. If we can raise a puppy together, then we'll go to a doctor and try getting knocked up." Skye flashed one of her million dollar smiles and Jemma laughed, agreeing._

As if Buddy knew that Jemma had been thinking about him, the black lab bounded into the room and pounced on the bed, wiggling himself in between Jemma and Skye as Mandy had moments before and licked their faces. A pink bandanna was tied around his neck, probably the styling of their rambunctious daughter.

"I think it's time to get up." Jemma slid out of bed against Skye's protests and shuffled into the kitchen to fill Buddy's bowl with kibble and get started on making blueberry pancakes.

"She's growing up so fast." Phil chuckled when he entered the house carrying a box covered in flowered wrapping paper.

"Uncle Phil!" Mandy heard the sound of his voice from her room and came running into the kitchen, unfortunately still in her pajamas. She wrapped her arms around her great uncle's legs and quickly moved on to May, holding her arms up and jumping up and down, waiting for May to pick her up and carry her on her hip, and she did.

Skye finally came wandering out of the bedroom with a tired look on her face.

"Looks like you got here before I could even walk over." Skye observed. They were basically neighbors. Coulson offered to let them build a house on the ranch, they would be inheriting it someday anyway, so their new house was less than a mile away from the original house and barn.

Mandy stretched her arms towards Skye when she walked by and May passed her along with a smile on her face. Mandy wrapped her legs around Skye's waist and giggled into her hair.

"Happy birthday, Mandy." May and Coulson said simultaneously. Mandy's cheeks only turned red with embarrassment because of the attention and she hid her face behind curtains of Skye's wavy hair.

"I like Buddy's clothes." Coulson complimented Mandy while absentmindedly scratching the dog between the ears.

"Oh, sweetheart, you know you can't ride in your pj's." Jemma sighed. Mandy pouted and Skye put her down to bring the crumpled paper in her hand over to her mother. Sure enough, Mandy had found out how long it would take for Calypso and Sunshine to pass each other if each was galloping towards each other at a certain speed, and all the math was done in blue crayon. Jemma nodded in approval and handed Mandy a plate of pancakes. Skye approached Jemma and brushed their hips together while she prepared several more plates for Coulson, May, and themselves.

They all sat down and enjoyed a lengthy breakfast together, singing happy birthday to Mandy and letting her open a few presents. Jemma and Skye gave her a few more toy horses to add to her collection as well as a book full of more math problems. Coulson and May had gotten her a new cowboy hat, one that she put on immediately and wore it throughout the morning, even though it looked absolutely ridiculous with her pajama pants, which were green, the color she insisted was her favorite this week. It was always changing and nobody could keep up.

After lots of nagging from Mandy, they'd all packed up and gotten out on the trail. Skye and Jemma were on Calypso and Sunshine, as usual, Coulson and May rode some of their newer horses, and Mandy sat comfortably in her child's saddle on Freedom, the horse they'd rescued the year before they got married.

The once wild horse was now one of the gentlest creatures they'd ever seen and he always took great precaution to be careful with Mandy. Mandy wasn't exactly in need of protection, though, she'd been on horseback since she was an infant, despite Jemma's complaints. When she was a baby and couldn't get to sleep, Skye would hold her in one arm and take her out for a trail ride until her eyelids drooped and the crying stopped. She was on a horse by herself the day she was safely able to sit in a saddle without falling off.

Buddy barked at their heels as they rode further and further away from their houses, following a stream.

The five of them out riding with a few bags and Buddy following along at their feet made them look like a caravan crossing the prairie. The calm mood wouldn't last for long, however, because when Mandy and Skye were both on horseback at the same time, the riding wasn't often at a slow pace.

"Mamma, I bet I can beat you to that tree." Mandy challenged. Jemma sighed and looked behind her at Coulson and May, who mostly just looked amused.

"You think so?" Skye asked. Mandy nodded enthusiastically. "I can beat both you and Mommy." When Mandy invited Jemma to join their race, Skye looked at her over the top of their daughter's head with a smirk on her face.

"If your mamma or I win, you have to do your chores without complaining for a week." Jemma added. If she had to race, she might as well try to get something out of it.

"What do I get if I win?" Mandy asked curiously.

"You can have as many smores as you want tonight." Skye bargained. Jemma opened her mouth to protest, but Skye shushed her. Jemma had a thing about Mandy and sugar, she tended to get way more hyped than any of them could handle. But, it was Mandy's birthday, so Jemma was just going to have to get over it.

Mandy's eyes brightened and she made both Skye and Jemma shake her hand to seal the deal.

"Count us off?" Jemma asked Coulson.

"3... 2... 1... go!" He shouted. The three of them took off down the hill towards the tree Mandy had pointed at. Jemma thought the idea of no complaining for a week was nice, but the look on the little girl's face when Skye and Jemma slowed down just enough for Mandy to pass was even nicer.

When they finally began to slow after passing the tree, Skye leaned out of the saddle to kiss Jemma, causing her to squeak. A _bleh_ sound reached their ears and Jemma felt Skye smile against her lips.

"Kissing is gross! There are so many germs!" Mandy complained. She covered her eyes with her hand and Skye let out a hearty laugh.

"You'll understand someday." Jemma told their daughter, leaning in for another kiss. She was so glad her parents had forced her to come out here all those years ago. If they hadn't, she never would have met Skye, and she wouldn't be horseback riding with their daughter. If it weren't for a little summer loving, she would probably be in a lab right now, and the only daughter she was ever going to have would be the daughter cells of the reproducing bacteria she was studying.

She reached up with one hand and wrapped her fingers around the soda tab hanging from Skye's neck. It had long since tarnished and was now a beautiful copper color in its old age. It brought back so many memories. She remembered the naive teenage girl she used to be, the one who was too scared to make any gesture towards Skye other than handing her a piece of metal while watching a kid's movie. She remembered that brief stage of their relationship that consisted of friendly touches and unsure actions. It was so short compared to the full span of their relationship, but it still seemed like the longest two months of her life. It was so long ago that she met Skye, nearly twelve years, but she remembered it like it was yesterday, like it had just happened.

It was like Skye knew what she was thinking. Of course, Skye always knew what she was thinking, but when they locked eyes after parting lips, it was like their minds connected. Skye winked and smirked, mouthing the words "preacher's daughter" just as Coulson and May caught up. The entire family continued the ride, searching for a fit spot to camp.

"Momma, I think this spot is nice." It was nice. It was familiar. Mandy picked the best spot she could ever pick. Somehow, they had made a large circle, and this marvelous spot Mandy wanted to camp at was at the bank of a certain lake, under a certain oak tree that had grown in size over the years. She could still faintly see the engraving on the trunk of the tree with the initials S+J that they had carved after their wedding.

Jemma watched Skye from dismount and one thought echoed through her head, bubbling up from the back of her mind. She helped Mandy dismount as well, and Jemma saw everything she ever wanted right in front of her. Mandy was in a getup just like her mother: flannels, jeans, and a cowboy hat. Skye looked over her shoulder and brushed a stand of her own hair out of her face so that she could see Jemma properly. Just looking at her beautiful wife and daughter, that thought buzzed in Jemma's mind once again.

_The only difference between cowgirls and angels is that angels can't ride as good._


End file.
